Stolen Innocence
by Tobias Spiegler
Summary: 2nd season AU, something happens during Innocence that’s going to change Xander’s life forever
1. Default Chapter

Title : Stolen Innocence  
  
Author : Tobias Spiegler  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing  
  
Summary: 2nd season AU, something happens during Innocence that's going to change Xander's life forever  
  
Author's notes: So, I'm finally back. I have a new beta reader, so there should be a steady flow of story parts from now on. Despite all that, the next month is going to be hell for me. It's my final school year, so there will a lot of tests in the next time. I don't know if I will get the time to continue writing regulary. But there is always a bright side: after that timr there will be barely classes, so more freetime for me. Well, if you have expected the next part of the Late Night series, you are gonna be dissapointed. This is a completely other story. I hope it's any good.  
  
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"You can't do it. You can't kill me," Angelus stated confidently and looked at the woman that just defeated him.  
  
The woman, Buffy Summers, still stood in front of him, unable to stake her ex-boyfriend. His taunting words however had an unpredicted effect on the blonde slayer.  
  
Her anger took over and she kicked the vampire hard in his crotch. He fell to his knees and grabbed his groin, moaning in pain. During all of this Buffy had turned around.  
  
"Give me time," she said over her shoulder and walked away, leaving the vampire with his pain.  
  
The now formerly souled vampire was still clutching his private parts, unable to do anything more than to remain on his knees and moan in pain.  
  
After a minute the pain finally lessened and Angelus was able to stand, a bit shakily on his feet.  
  
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"That's disappointing," said the one man to the other. They both stood on the second floor of the mall and had observed the fight that took place only minutes ago. "She showed real potential. She lacks ,however, however the right attitude."  
  
"I agree with you," the other figure agreed with his partner. "Shall we leave? If we go now we can still reach our flight to New York. We have another potential candidate to observe."  
  
Suddenly the first of the two figures spotted something on floor under them. "Oh, I don't know. It looks like things are getting interesting after all," he told his companion with a smile and leaned over the railing to observe the show that was beginning on the ground floor.  
  
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"That stupid bitch," Angelus said to no one in particular and smiled. "This was her last mistake. Soon she and her friends will be six feet under. I think I'll start with the redhead," the vampire mused, but was interrupted by the most unlikely person.  
  
"Not if I can do something about it," Xander said as he walked around the pillar he had been hiding behind.  
  
"And let's not forget geek boy," Angelus continued happily. "Guess I have to change my plan. You will be the first one. I will rip your heart out and send it to the slayer with UPS."  
  
Xander ignored the threats to his life and calmly drew a pistol from under his jacket. Before Angelus could react, Xander had aimed the Baretta at the vampire's knees.  
  
"I already said: Not if can do something about it," he said as he and squeezed the trigger. The 9mm bullet had no problem shattering Angelus' kneecap and the vampire landed in the growing pool of water from the sprinkler system.  
  
Xander slowly walked up to the fallen vampire and fired another round into the other kneecap.  
  
"That's not possible," Angelus croaked out, the pain evident in his voice.  
  
"But looks like it, huh Deadboy?" Xander told him with a cold smile. Wasting no time he emptied the rest of the magazine into the vampire, shattering both his elbows in the process. "I'm going to make damn sure that her decision won't bite us in the ass," he said and took a stake out of his pocket.  
  
"You can't kill me," the now motionless vampire told him with a hint of fear. "She would never forgive you."  
  
"Yeah, that might be possible," Xander admitted. "But better Buffy angry at me than her, and probably others, dead."  
  
Xander leaned over the vampire an aimed the stake at his heart  
  
"This might hurt a bit," he told him with an evil smile.  
  
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"Have you collected the parts," Buffy asked when she arrived to join the rest of the group.  
  
"Yeah we are ready," Willow told her with a proud smile. "We have all the arms and leg and other things packed away in boxes. Giles is currently stuffing them into his car."  
  
Buffy scanned her friends and noticed that one of them was missing.  
  
"Where is Xander?" She finally asked.  
  
Willow looked around, but also couldn't find a single trace of her childhood friend.  
  
"I don't know, he must have left while the rest of us were busy were busy," Willow realised.  
  
Suddenly gunshots echoed through the now empty mall, startling most of the Scoobies.  
  
"Oh god," Buffy exclaimed and sprinted into the direction of the shots.  
  
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Buffy just arrived when Xander plunged the stake into Angelus' heart. The only thing she could was watch in shock as his body vanished, leaving only a small pile of dust.  
  
Xander stood-up slowly and brushed the vampire's dust off his jeans, his back still turned towards Buffy.  
  
"You are not going to hurt anyone," he told the remains of the scourge of Europe. When he turned, he was shocked to see Buffy standing there.  
  
"Buffy," Xander started.  
  
"Xander," Buffy said, but her voice was filled with anger and venom.  
  
She quickly wallked up to Xander and punched him in the jaw, sending him flying a few feet, until his body finally hit the wall.  
  
Xander blacked out for a second. When consciousness came over him again he was greeted with the image of the blonde slayer as she hurled him to his feet.  
  
"Buffy," he desperately tried to reach his friend. "Please, you have to understand.."  
  
She ignored him and threw him through the door of the emergency exit, that also lead to the stairway. Xander landed with a loud thud on the ground.  
  
"Understand what?" Buffy shouted and she followed him. "That you killed him? That you took that choice from me?"  
  
Xander tried to stand up, but Buffy kicked him hard in the ribs and cut his efforts short.  
  
"Tell me Xander. Why did you do it?" she asked him and kicked him in his side.  
  
"You should know it," Xander was able to bring out, despite his broken ribs. He carefully stood up, trying to attract as little attention from the slayer as possible. "You were not able to do it, so someone had to make this choice."  
  
"I'm the goddamn slayer. It was my choice," she shouted as she lifted him up by the collar of his jacket. "You had no right," she said and threw him against the wall.  
  
This time Xander was able to stay on his feet, leaning against the wall to stabilize himself.  
  
"I had every right," he croaked out. "Sooner or later he would have killed one of us. I didn't want a Scooby dead because you weren't able to get your head out of your ass."  
  
Buffy again lifted him up by his collar, his feet leaving the ground.  
  
"I don't believe you. You were always jealous of Angel," she shouted. "Did you imagine it like that? You kill him and suddenly I'm forgetting that he ever existed? That I'd fall in love with you after what you did?"  
  
"Get over yourself," Xander spat back. "I did it a long time ago."  
  
That statement cause Buffy's blood to boil even more. She lifted her right hand and punched Xander in the face. Through the force of the punch she lost the grip she had on him and Xander landed on the ground.  
  
What she hadn't realised was that they were standing on top of the staircase. Xander fell on the first step and rolled down the stairs. Finally his movement came to a stop.  
  
Buffy looked with shook at the broken body of her friend, finally realising what she had done.  
  
"Buffy," Giles called and ran up to his slayer. "Are you okay?" he asked, but immediately spotted Xander lying at the bottom of the staircase. "Oh my god," he muttered.  
  
Buffy turned around to her watcher, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Giles,. I," Buffy started, but Giles cut her short.  
  
"Buffy call an ambulance," he told the blonde slayer with urgency, but the blonde slayer didn't move a muscle. "Quick," he ordered her with a commanding tone.  
  
Finally, Buffy snapped out of her daze and left the staircase as fast as possible, in her search of a payphone.  
  
Giles carefully stepped down the stairs.  
  
"Xander, are you okay?" he asked the teen, not touching him in fear of causing more damage to his body.  
  
"Giles.?" Xander asked, his voice barely noticeable.  
  
"Yes, it's me. Don't worry everything is going to be alright," Giles tried to assure him.  
  
But Xander completely ignored the librarians statement "Giles?" he asked again. "Why can't I feel my legs?"  
  
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The two figures stood outside of the mall and watched as the paramedics closed the door of the ambulance.  
  
"Do you really think that this will work?" the one man asked his partner.  
  
"Believe me. He is exactly the kind of person we are looking for," his companion told him with a smile. They watched as the ambulance drove away, into the direction of the hospital. A second later Giles' car followed.  
  
"He shows great potential," the man continued. "There is a lot of rare material we can work with. Our mages will have their fun with him."  
  
"Yes, but it will will take a lot of money and time to change him for our needs," the other man interjected.  
  
"Nonetheless, once finished he will be a great addition to our forces," the man stated. "Call the headquarter. Tell them, that we will stay in Sunnydale a while longer." 


	2. Default Chapter

Jennifer Calendar, or Janna of the Kalderash, rushed down the corridors of Sunnydale General Hospital, desperately trying to find the Scoobies.  
  
After of minutes of searching she finally found Giles standing in front of a water dispenser as he poured himself a cup.  
  
"Oh God Rupert," Jenny exclaimed and threw her hands around the surprised librarian, who tried his hardest not to spill the water.  
  
"Jenny?" Giles asked surprised, but couldn't help and smile for the first time in hours. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I heard in the radio that several people were injured at the mall. Something about a gang war," she explained. "I was afraid that one of you might end up here, so I wanted to check the hospital. The nurse at the front desk told me that Xander and Buffy are currently here."  
  
Giles took her arm and led her down the corridor, to the part of the hospital where the rest of Scoobies were waiting.  
  
"Xander is currently in surgery," he explained in a hushed tone, which resulted in a worried look from Jenny. "They won't tell us anything about his condition. And Buffy, well the doctors sedated her. She broke the arm of one security guard and another one's nose when they tried to separate her from Xander's stretcher. Her mother is now with her."  
  
"Rupert, what happened there?" Jenny asked. "And how did Xander end up so badly that he needed to go to surgery."  
  
"I really don't know all the facts," Giles said and sighed. "It seems that Buffy defeated Angelus, but she didn't destroy him. Xander waited until she was out of sight and then he killed him. Buffy just came back in time to see him die. She didn't take it very well. She beat up Xander and during their struggle he fell down a staircase."  
  
Jenny gasped in shock. "Oh no," she muttered  
  
"Oh, you haven't heard the worst part yet," he told her with a sad smile. "When I checked on him he said he had no feeling in his legs. Despite that he was fine until the ambulance arrived. Then he suddenly lost consciousness and it looks like he was in that state the whole time."  
  
They had finally reached the waiting room, where the Scoobies had been since they had arrived at the hospital. Everyone was sitting on the chairs, Oz trying his hardest to comfort the red head, whereas Cordelia was simply staring at the wall other side of the small room.  
  
Jenny sat down beside Willow and placed a comforting hand on the little girls back. Willow looked up form Oz's shoulder where she had buried her face for the last hour and looked with her tear streaked face at the computer teacher. Finally the red haired hacker threw her arms around the older women.  
  
When suddenly a doctor stepped into the waiting room, everyone was on their feet, looking expectantly at the man.  
  
"Doctor," Giles greeted him.  
  
"You are the ones that arrived with Mr. Harris?" the doctor asked. That earned him a collective nod from the gang.  
  
"Yes, how is he?" Cordelia asked impatiently.  
  
"Well, I'm only going to tell it to you because we couldn't reach his parents," the doctor explained. "And only because one of his teachers is present."  
  
The doctor took a deep breath before he started. "Mr. Harris has several broken ribs. He suffered a heavy concussion and a broken arm." The doctor looked at the shocked faces of the group and prepared himself for what was coming now. "What comes now might be shock, but Mr. Harris' spine was broken in several places. There was nothing we could do. He is paralysed below the waist."  
  
That statement cause even more shocked looks from the scooby gang. Giles looked in defeat at the floor, Willow was trying her hardest not to cry again, while Jenny again comforted her. Oz, of course, didn't show any emotion, but surprisingly Cordelia almost rivalled his stoic façade.  
  
Cordelia was the first to speak again. "Can we see him?"  
  
"Well, he is awake. But I can only allow two persons to visit him and I suggest that you spend only a few minutes with him. He is under heavy medication and he needs to rest," the doctor explained. "And of course one has to be Mr. Giles, since he the responsible adult for Mr. Harris."  
  
Willow looked at Cordelia. "Cord, I know you two are together, but...."  
  
"It's okay Willow," the cheerleader interrupted her.  
  
"Thanks," Willow told her with a small smile and the taller girl a quick hug before she left the waiting room with Giles.  
  
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When Giles and Willow entered the room, Xander was lying in his hospital bed. He had his eyes closed and almost looked fine. But when they looked closer they could see the bandages that were strapped around his upper body and his head. Add to that that his face looked unnatural pale. The two silently walked up to the bed, trying to not make any sound that might wake him up.  
  
When they had reached the bedside, Xander opened his eyes ana smiled weakly at them.  
  
"Hi Xander," Willow greeted him hesitantly.  
  
"Hi guys," he replied.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Giles asked him.  
  
Xander chuckled. "Like I rolled down a staircase"  
  
"Did the doctors talk with you?" Willow asked him after a pause.  
  
Xander sighed, but after a minute he nodded.  
  
Willow leaned over the bed and hugged him, paying special attention to not hurt him while doing it.  
  
"How could you do something so stupid," she accused him angrily after she sat down on the chair at the bedside. "God, Xander he could have killed you."  
  
"Huh?" the boy asked confused  
  
"Angel, he could have killed you," she clarified her statement  
  
Xander sighed in response. "And I thought you were going to give me the whole 'how could you kill Angel, he was the vampire with a soul and it's Buffy's job to decide when he will be killed'-speech "  
  
"After he nearly killed me?" Willow asked him with a raised eyebrow  
  
"Yeah, good point" Xander told her with a half smile "Where is that bitch by the way?"  
  
"Xander," Willow scowled at him.  
  
"What?" he snapped at her. "I think I've earned me the right to call her that."  
  
"She is resting in another room," Giles told him while he took his classes and started to clean them "She was a complete wreck after the whole thing."  
  
"I think I'm more of a wreck than her," he muttered.  
  
"Xander.." Giles tried to reason with him.  
  
"No Giles. She went too far. She is supposed to protect humans, not to put them into wheelchairs," Xander yelled at him. "Killing Angelus was something that had to be done. If she couldn't do it, well tough choice, I could. She made her decision, I made mine. I knew that I would ruin every kind of friendship I had with Buffy, but I never expected her to do this to me."  
  
"I agree with you Xander," Giles told him and sighed for the umpteenth time this day." God knows that Buffy didn't react very professionally. But you also have to consider the circumstances that lead to that point," he explained "All that pent up stress she suffered during the last 48 hours and..."  
  
"Wait a fucking second," Xander interrupted him angrily. " Why are you searching for an excuse for her. She did that willingly."  
  
"No, I don't want to excuse her actions. I simply want to explain them," Giles told him.  
  
"Explain?" Xander yelled at him "Explain to me why I have to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Explain to me why I'll never ever will be able to walk. Explain that to me"  
  
"Xander," Giles said and tried to calm him down.  
  
"No, fuck you Giles. I could forgive her nearly anything, but she ruined my life. You want to explain things? Well explain to that bitch that, if she ever will get near me again that I will kill her. And don't doubt a second that I won't be able to do it."  
  
"Xander," Willow tried to calm him down. "You are right. Buffy had no right to do that to you. But you can't just ignore the effect the death on Angel had on her."  
  
"You too Willow." Xander said and shook his head. "Okay, that's enough. Out," he said and pointed at the door.  
  
"Xander...," Willow tried to reason with him.  
  
"I swear to you, if one of you Xanders me again, I'm going postal," he threatened the two." I get that shit that everything is my mistake already from home. I don't need it from the people I consider my friends. Now go before I call the nurse."  
  
Giles sighed and lead Willow to the door. "We'll check on you tomorrow, okay?" Willow asked before she closed the door.  
  
"Go to hell," he yelled after them, his voice clearly audible through the door.  
  
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"Well, that went well," Giles muttered sarcastically as he spotted the rest of the Scoobie gang who had gathered outside Xander's room.  
  
"What happened?" Cordelia asked and glared at the librarian. "We heard a lot of muffled yelling."  
  
"It was Xander," Willow said silently.  
  
"What?" Cordy snapped at her. "You angered him that much in his current state?"  
  
"Cordelia." Giles said.  
  
"No," Cordelia interrupted him. "I want to know what happened in there."  
  
"We talked. Xander was pretty upset about his condition. He threatened to kill Buffy if she would ever get near him again. We tried to calm him down. But he was too angry," Giles explained.  
  
"Condition?" the cheerleader asked bewildered. "He is paralysed for God's sake. And he has every right to be angry. I tell you, if I could, I would kill that bottle blond bitch myself."  
  
"Cordy," Willow said and motioned for her to lower her voice.  
  
"Oh, screw you Willow," Cordelia yelled at her." Xander's supposed to be your best friend and you are still on the side of the slayer?"  
  
Willow looked shamefully down to her shoes.  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "You people , you make me sick. I should have gone inside to him," she said and walked down the corridor. "He should have needed someone who really would be there for him," she said and disappeared behind the next corner. 


	3. Default Chapter

The man waited until the little group of Scoobies finally left the hospiatl. First checking the corridor for any witnesses he quickly opened the door to Xander's room and entered.  
  
"Mr Harris," the man greeted the teen as he stepped into the room.  
  
"Uh, hello?" Xander responded confused.  
  
"I'm Mr Jones," the man introduced himself with a small smile and shook Xander's hand. Than he sat dowm on the chair at his bedside.  
  
"Well, I don't want to sound rude, but what the hell are you doing in my hospital room," Xander asked even more confused.  
  
"Oh, where are my manners," Mr. Jones said and shook his head "Mr. Harris, I'm representing the Brotherhood of Taraka."  
  
When he mentiontioned the Brotherhood Xander eyes went wide. "Oh shit," he muttered. "Look I didn't kill bug guy, okay? He slipped and broke his neck..," Xander explained, but quickly recalled that the assasin didn't really have a neck he could barke. "You don't buy it?" he asked. Mr. Jones simply shook his head. "So, you are going to kill me now?"  
  
"On the contrary," the man told him with a smile. "I'm making you an offer."  
  
"Huh," was Xander's only response. After a moment he was able to formulate a response."Could you explain that a bit"  
  
"Very well," Mr. Jones said "I should begin at the beginning. A few months ago we sent a three man team after your friend, the slayer. Two of out operatives didn't return from this mission. Our surviving team member reported that one was killed by Miss Summers and the other one was killed .. by you."  
  
"Look, I can explain that," Xander told him  
  
"Oh, I'm sure you can," the man said. "But that's not the reason I'm here. You see, each time an operation fails, we sent a team of observers and to collect data of the individuals that messed it up. In this case, Miss summers and you. The purpose of this opbservations is to check out new potential members for the Brotherhood," he explained. He waited a few seconds to let this information sink into Xander's brain.  
  
"We observed you and Summers for the past few weeks. Finally we decided that you were not suitable for our needs, since you have no real combat value and the deafeat of our colleage looked like pure luck. After that realisation we shifted out main attention to the slayer. But her decision to spare the vampire's life also put her off our list."  
  
He took a deep breath before he contiued.  
  
"That was when you came back into the picture. I must say, I'm impressed that you were able to take out a more tha 200 years old vampire."  
  
"Well, thanks fro the praise," Xander said. "But what do you want?"  
  
"I'm offering you a job."  
  
"Me?" Xander asked bewildered. "A job ? As an assasin?"  
  
Mr. Jones simply nodded at that question.  
  
Xander looked a few moments at the older man. Then suddely he began to laugh hysterically.  
  
"Oh, that's a good one," he said after he had calmed down enough."Me. An assasin. In a wheelchair."  
  
Mr. Jones raised an eyebrow and looked dissaprovingly the young man."Mr. Harris, there is no need to redicule the whole situation," he told Xander. "Of yourse we won't let you work for us in a wheelchair. I rather thought on both of your feet."  
  
"What?" Xander asked when he realised the hidden meaning behind those words.  
  
"You heard me correctly," Mr: Jones simply said.  
  
Xande gulped. "How?"  
  
"Oh, the Brotherhood has a lot of magicans in their service," he explained. "We will heal you injuries and bring out some of the potentials that are hidden inside of you."  
  
"What do you mean." Xander asked confused.  
  
"Well you have been possed by a soldier and a hyena," Mr. Jones clarified. "We will give you those ablities back, this time under you full control. And after that you will fulfill contracts for us."  
  
Xander thought about the whole situation fow a few minutes. "That awfully sounds like a deal with the devil," he finally said. "I have to think good about that offer."  
  
"I can't give you that time. The offer stands. Accept or deceline it. There are dozens more like you that we have in waiting position."  
  
"I don't know," Xander said, still unsure.  
  
"I see. I have to make the whole thing more interesting for you,"What about revenge?" he said. "I can see it in you eyes. You want revenge on the slayer, right? The offer I'm making you is not for a lifetime Mr. Harris. After three years of service we consider the service we provided to you paid. And you are a free man again. You leave the Brotherhood with all your abilities intact and and from then on it's up to you what you do with them. You can still work for us or you can take you revenge on you former friend. So, what do you say?"  
  
Xander looked directly in the other man's eyes, his anger still boiling behind them. "Count me in," he simply said.  
  
"Very well," Mr Jones said with a smile while he took the wheel chair from the other side of the room. "No come on young man. We have a plane to catch," He said as he helped Xander into the wheelchair.  
  
"But all my things," Xander protested. "And there are people her I want to say goodbye to."  
  
"First of, I've been at you home and I have already gathered the few important belongings that were there," Mr. Jones explained as he wheeled Xander though th abbonded corridors of the hospital."And second, well we can't allow anyone to cantact persons fron their former lifes. I'm sure you understand the wish of our organisation to stay as secret as possible," explained the situation to Xander. He felt that the young man wanted to protest, so he quickly sontinued. "And if you would still do it, we would be forced to eliminate everyone you contacted  
  
"Look mister, one phone call ,okay?" Xander almost pleed with th other man as he wheeled him out of the hospital and up to limusine. "I won't talk about anything regardin the Brotherhood."  
  
Mr Jones sighed a he carried xander out of the wheelchair and into the back of the limosine. "Well, alright you can call one of your friends once we are at the airport."  
  
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"Hello?" came the voice from the other side of the line.  
  
"Hi Cordy," Xander replied with a smile.  
  
"Xander?" Cordelia asked excited "I was just on my way to the hospital."  
  
"Forget it," he simply said. "I'm not longer there."  
  
"What?" Cordelai asked shocked. "What are you doing outside of a hospital bed?"  
  
"Well, that's a bit difficult to explain," Xander said "You see, last night a man came into my room. He offered me a special therapy with which might regain the use of my legs."  
  
"Really? That's great," sge replied happily. "Where are you. We have to celebrate this."  
  
"I'm at the airport," he simply said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah, there are a few conditions. I have to leave immediately and that can't tell anyone where I'm going. And I can't contact anyone during the thrapy" Xander explained. "I just had one phonecall"  
  
"And you called me?" Cordelia asked.  
  
Xander snorted "Who else do you think I would call? The people who still support miss slay a lot."  
  
"How do you know that I don't support her," she challenged him.  
  
"I know you Cordy. You mabe sometimes are a tactless and selfless little princess," Xander said and could imagine the outraged look on Cordelia's face."But you also have more integrety in you little finger than most people have in their whole body."  
  
Both kept silent for a minute.  
  
"So, do you know how long this therapy might take?" Cordelia finally asked.  
  
"I don't know, it could be a couple of years," Xander said, trying to stick as much as possible to the truth.  
  
"Well that means that we won't see ech other in the next few years," she stated.  
  
"Seems like it," Xander replied.  
  
"Xander," Cordelia said a bit shy. "I just want you to know that I don't regret anything between us."  
  
"Same here," Xander replied with a smile.  
  
"Just promise me one thing."  
  
"Anything Cordy."  
  
"Visit once you can walk again," she said.  
  
"Promise," Xander replied truthfully  
  
"Goodbye Xander," Cordlial finally said. "Love you."  
  
From the sound of her voice Xander could tell that it took a lot of willpower for her to tell him this.  
  
"Love you too Cordy. Bye," he said and hung the receiver up.  
  
He looked at the man that stood the whole time behind him and whoe had heared every word.  
  
"Happy?" he snapped angrily a the older man.  
  
"You really don't understand my intention," Mr.Jones said as he wheeled Xander through the airport. "I don'r want to cause you more pain Mr. Harris. I just follow strict regulations. Regulations that existed for over two thousand years."  
  
Xander shihed."So, where does our little journey lead."  
  
"Europe," Mr Jones simply said."Germany to be precise. The Brotherhoods current headquater is there. We have all the instalations there to bring you back to you old form and even beyond that."  
  
"I hope so," Xander muttered. "I've sacrificed already enough," he said as they approached the terminal. 


	4. Default Chapter

The next day the remaining members of the Scooby gang had gathered in the library. Sleep was nearly not present during the last and the effects were plainly visible on their worn out faces.  
  
"So, what are we gonna do now?" Willow asked when they all had a seat.  
  
"Well, I shipped all the parts of the Judge to Council," Giles said tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. "I hope that they are safe there."  
  
"I didn't mean that," Willow clarified her statement. "What are going to do about Xander?"  
  
"I have absolutely no idea," Giles admitted "I have no experience how to deal with such a situation."  
  
"None of us has Rupert," Jenny said and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I know," he told her with a small smile. "This is just so frustrating. We can fight demons and vampires but we can't help a member of our group."  
  
"Which do you mean," Oz asked calmly "Xander or Buffy?"  
  
"Both," Giles told him. "Xander is devastated because he is bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life and Buffy because she put him in it."  
  
"Correction," Oz interrupted "He is devastated because she put him in it."  
  
"Yes, I think that also applies," Giles admitted.  
  
"But what are we going to do," Willow repeated her question. "I mean, I can understand both their point of views. Even if I don't agree with Buffy reactions, she has a right to be angry at Xander. But Xander also had the right to kill Angelus to protect himself and us from further harm. And he also has every right to be angry at Buffy."  
  
"I think you are asking the wrong question here," Jenny interjected. "They have been both wrong and right at the same time. But more important is that we help them both cope with the situation."  
  
"This is leading nowhere," Giles exclaimed frustrated and slammed his hand on the table. "We are running around in circles. We simply don't know how to help them."  
  
"One thing is for sure," Jenny said. "If Xander's outburst from yesterday is an indication for his current state of mind, then we have to be very careful what we tell him. Any comment that Buffy had any right to attack him might sent him over the edge."  
  
"So, we have to tip toe around what we say," Willow muttered. "I hate this situation. I don't want to be forced into having to decide between my best friend and Buffy."  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that," came the voice from behind them. The Scoobies turned around and saw Cordelia standing at the entrance. "You don't have to make this decision. It's already been made."  
  
"What do you mean?" Willow asked confused.  
  
"Xander," Cordelia clarified. "He's gone."  
  
"Gone?" repeated confused, but then she realised what these words might imply. "Oh, god no," she gasped  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes at the shocked expression of the red head. "Not gone in the 'died'-way, but in the 'out of Sunnydale and never come back' -way."  
  
"Could you explain that a little bit more in detail?" Giles finally asked.  
  
"He called me today. Said that someone offered him a new therapy. It might help him to get the use of his legs back," she explained. "He had to leave immediately and couldn't tell me where he is going and...," Cordelia continued, but finally realised something important. "Why am I telling you this anyway? He is simply gone. Deal with it," she exclaimed angrily and turned to leave.  
  
"Wait Cordy," Willow shouted and ran up to the cheerleader. "He said nothing? No address or a phone number were we could reach him? He really didn't say anything?"  
  
"No," Cordelia said simply. "And I can hardly blame him for it. If I were him I would also try to get as far away from you all as possible."  
  
"What are you talking about," Willow exclaimed shocked.  
  
"Oh, you can't be that dumb Willow," Cordelia said and glared at her ."What's left for him here, to make him stay? Nothing. Not that hellhole he called home and definitely not his so called friends that sided with the bitch that crippled him."  
  
"Cordy," Willow said and tried to calm the taller girl down. "You don't understand.."  
  
But the cheerleader immediately interrupted. "Yeah? Okay, explain it to me," she said and crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
Cordelia smirked as Willow struggled to formulate a response to her actions.  
  
"I'm wasting my time here," she said and finally left the library, leaving also a disturbed Willow at the verge of tears.  
  
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'Casa di Angelo' was probably one of the most well known Italian restaurant in LA. What few knew that the restaurant was named and owned by Angelo Puncinello, the head of the Puncinello crime family. Economically there was little use for the restaurant. It didn't make that much money. But it was the perfect cover for the weekly meetings Puncinello and his three goons held. These three bosses were also called the Trio, Puncinellos most efficient and brutal killers. They held LA in a vice grip, killing everyone who might be threat to their brutal reign.  
  
The meeting had barely started when the assassin stopped his black BMW on the other side of the street. The young man stepped out of his car, took his briefcase and walked up to the entrance of the restaurant. The bodyguard who stood guard at the door scrutinized the newcomer with a doubtful expression. He was dressed completely in black. Black boots, black jeans, black T- shirt and a black leather jacket. To top it all he also wore a pair of stylish, black sunglasses. The guy just reeked of trouble.  
  
"Excuse me sir," The bodyguard called out. "But this place is closed. There is a private celebration going on. If you would be so kind as to return tomorrow."  
  
But the assassin didn't have any intention of leaving. Instead he calmly pressed the trigger on the underside of the briefcase's handle, sending a trio of silenced 9mm bullets into the direction of the bodyguard.  
  
Two of the deadly projectiles entered his lower abandon, the other one went right through his forehead, killing him immediately.  
  
The assassin never slowed his pace, calmly flipped the briefcase open and took the silenced M5k from the interior.  
  
The death of the first guard didn't go unnoticed. There was some confusion in the restaurant, but no one was particularly alarmed. The other remaining bodyguards, just wanted to go check on his partner when the front door was suddenly kicked in. The assassin quickly stepped in a fired another burst at the bodyguard before he could even react.  
  
Now things were happening very fast. While Angelo Puncinello crouched under the table in search for cover, the surprised Trio finally came out of their daze and grabbed their own guns. But it didn't do them any good. Faster than any human could react the assassin switched the MP5 on full auto mode and started firing, the three gangsters were mowed down before they even could fire a single shot.  
  
That left Puncinello alone, who still hid under the table. The assassin slowly walked up to him, ejecting the empty magazine on his way. He just finished reloading when suddenly the door to the kitchen was ripped open and two more guards ran into the room.  
  
They immediately began shooting, but their target moved out of their line of fire and dove behind one of the pillars .  
  
The two guards took cover behind the bar and continued firing. When the guns ran dry the assassin fired his whole clip at them, but he managed to only hit the bottles on the shelves behind them.  
  
He cursed under his breath and took another fresh clip from his pocket, this one had a red tape strapped around the base.  
  
The guards meanwhile had reopened fire, but again only hitting the pillar, tearing pieces of stone out of it. The assassin watched as they again dove for cover, noting their position. He switched back on three round burst and fired twice, one burst at each position. The AP rounds easily went through the wood hitting the guards.  
  
The assassin waited a moment,concentrating his sharp senses on the area behind the bar. The lack of heartbeat finally told him that the two guards were definitely dead.  
  
But out of the corner of his eyes he saw that Puncinello was crawling in the direction of the exit.  
  
"Hey," he shouted and ran for the mafia boss. On half of his run his jumped in the air, nearly flying over the fallen tables and chairs and landed directly in front of the dumbfounded mafia boss.  
  
"Good lord," Puncinello muttered under his breath.  
  
"Quite the opposite," the assassin told him with a cruel smile, before he put a single round into the gangster's kneecap.  
  
Puncinello cried out in pain and clutched his wounded leg.  
  
The assassin meanwhile was satisfied that his target wouldn't go anywhere and took a piece of paper out of his pocket.  
  
"Could you stop moaning?" he asked Puncinello in an annoyed way. "I'm trying to do my job here," he said. The word had the desired effect. Puncinello still held his wounded leg, but now looked up afraid at the man "Well, that are the words my contractor wanted you to hear, so that you know who is responsible for your death. Dear Angelo," he began reading. "Please don't take this personally, but you are standing in my way, and business is business. So I contracted this nice man here to take care of you. Enjoy your journey to hell. Dimitri."  
  
"What ever he paid you, I'm doubling it," Puncinello pleaded desperately.  
  
"Sorry," the assassin said and dragged him by his good leg through the whole restaurant in the direction of the bar. "I'm working for the Brotherhood. And you should know that their contracts are always fulfilled."  
  
He pulled the mafia boss behind the bar and into the growing poodle of alcohol that had formed on the ground from the broken bottles.  
  
"Please, you can have everything," Puncinello tried again.  
  
"Any last words?" the assassin asked calmly, as he flipped open his lighter, ignoring the pleas.  
  
"Didn't think so," he said after a silent second and let the lighter drop. The flame immediately ignited the alcohol. The assassin had already turned around when the flames reached Puncinello, covering his whole body in fire.  
  
The assassin ignored the agonized screams on his way out of the restaurant. He took the briefcase from the ground and placed the Mp5 in it. After his was done, he took a last look back as the fire spread.  
  
And with this picture in mind, Xander Harris turned around and walked back to his car. It had been three years since he left Sunnydale for good. The Brotherhood of Taraka had kept their promise. He could walk again and he was stronger, faster and tougher than he has ever been.  
  
He was now a man who could kill efficient and without a single thought, thanks to the soldier's and the Hyena's abilities. But even through all these changes, there were still certain traits that were the same. They were small, but still there. But the work in the grey areas has changed the once funny and goofy Scoobie.  
  
And he didn't know if it was for the better or the worse.  
  
Pushing these thoughts out of his head, he quickly walked up to his black BMW and stepped inside the expensive car. He took out his cell phone and hit speed dial  
  
"It's done," he said in the receiver, even before the man on the other side could answer.  
  
"Tony's bar, downtown, in thirty minutes," the voice said and then simply disconnected  
  
Xander put the phone back in his pocket and looked for a final time at the flaming remains of the restaurant. Finally he started the car and drove down the street the sound of the first police cars echoing in the distance.  
  
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Xander entered the seedy bar looking immediately for his contact. I didn't take long for him to spot the older man, sitting in one of the darkened booth at the other end of the room.  
  
He quickly weaved through the crowd of people and slipped into the both, Mr. Jones looking at him with expecting eyes.  
  
"So?" he asked "Did everything go according to plan?"  
  
"Yes," Xander said and ordered a beer. "Killed Puncinello. In a very painful manner, as it was ordered."  
  
"Excellent," Mr. Jones said. "I have already transferred the ten per cent into your account."  
  
Xander grimaced. The regular assassins that worked for the Brotherhood received twenty per cent from the contract sum. Since he had a dept to pay to the organisation he only got half of the money. But it still was more than most people earned with a normal job.  
  
"So, why am I here?" asked after the waitress had given him his beer. "Normally we don't meet in public."  
  
"That's right, but something urgent has come up," Mr. Jones explained. "I've got another contract for you."  
  
Xander thought about it for moment before he came up with the only suitable answer.  
  
"No," he simply said.  
  
"No?" Mr. Jones repeated confused.  
  
"No," Xander said and smiled eviöly at the older man. "My time with the Brotherhood is up. The gig at the restaurant was my last contract. I'm a free man and work for no one if I don't have to."  
  
"Yes you are," Mr. Jones affirmed. "Because of that I'm asking you to help us, not ordering you to do so."  
  
Xander sighed and took a sip from his beer. "Let's hear what you've got. Maybe I'm interested."  
  
"We want you to kill the slayer," Mr. Jones explained and immediately raised his hand to silence him. "And before you interrupt me: Not your slayer. The other one."  
  
"The other one," Xander asked with a raised eyebrow. "Kendra?"  
  
"No, her name is Faith," Mr. Jones said and handed him a photo "Our contractor wants her dead, and that it is done as soon as possible."  
  
Xander looked momentarily at the photo before he returned it. "And why do you need me for this job?"  
  
"You are the assassin with the most experience when it comes to slayers," Mr. Jones explained.  
  
"Yeah, but I never killed one," with a slight chuckle. "Well, till now."  
  
"Doesn't matter," Mr. Jones said. "You know what they are capable of. That's enough for us."  
  
"You still haven't told me anything that convinced me to accept this contract."  
  
"Well, our employer has put a 5 million dollar contract on her and since you are free man you get the same twenty per all the regular assassins get for a job," Mr. Jones told him with a smile. Xander whistled. "I think that amount of money should be a nice bonus."  
  
"Okay," Xander finally said "Where is the slayer?"  
  
"Here LA," Mr. Jones imply said. "It seems that Miss Williams here had a little run in with the authorities. She is currently in a correctional facility.  
  
"A slayer behind bars?" Xander said doubtfully."Well, that's new."  
  
"You are telling me?" Mr. Jones told him with a smile. "Well, she is going to be released tomorrow. An organisation in England with a lot of influence pulled a few strings."  
  
"The Watchers Council," Xander said with disgust. "Their slayer can't save the world if she is in prison."  
  
That earned him a nod from the older man. "Well, they are going to transfer her to Sunnydale PD where she will be released into the custody of a Mr. Giles."  
  
On the other side of the table Mr. Jones could see Xander's teeth clenched and his hands turned into fists. "That's all?" he asked after he had calmed down.  
  
"Yes, that was it," Mr. Jones told him and handed him a folder. "Here is everything we have on her. It's not much, but maybe it will help you. I also added the route of the prison truck, which might be you best chance to get her."  
  
Xander took the folder and stood up. He quickly gulped down the rest of his beer. "Don't take it personally," he told the man over his shoulder as he left. "But I hope I won't have to see you again."  
  
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Author's note: The gangsters I described above are from Remedy's 'Max Payne'. You just gotta love this game. 


	5. Default Chapter

The prison truck had just left the city limits of LA, when the driver spotted a parked BMW at the side of the road. A young man was kneeling in front of the left front wheel and trying from the look of it to change the tire. The driver slowed the truck down and parked it a couple of meters behind the car.  
  
The two guards exchanged looks. Finally the left one shook his head with a grin.  
  
"Those damn yuppies. Can't even change a tire," he exclaimed as he opened the door of the truck. "Well, let's see if we can help."  
  
The guard stepped out of the truck and walked up to the car.  
  
"Excuse me sir," the guard asked. "Do you need help?"  
  
The man stood up and smiled at the guard. "Yeah, I really could use a helping hand," Xander told him. "I'm not a very technical person."  
  
"That shouldn't be a problem," the guard said and kneeled down. Xander meanwhile moved behind the guard, blocking the view of the second guard on his partner. The guard finally found the problem.  
  
"Wait a second," he said and frowned. "The tire is fine." But unseen from him Xander had drawn a silenced MK23. He hit the guard with the butt of the weapon, knocking him unconscious.  
  
The only thing the guard in the prison truck could see was that his partner went down. . But before he could react Xander had whirled around and fired a single round at him. The .45 cal bullet went right through the windshield and the guard's head, killing him instantly.  
  
Xander shortly kneeled down in order to retrieve the first guard's keys and walked in the direction of the prison truck.  
  
He stepped into the car and opened the cage, where the only prisoner was busy struggling with the shackles that held her in place. But she immediately stopped when she saw Xander walking into the back of truck.  
  
She looked him directly in the eyes and Xander returned her gaze for a few seconds. Finally he returned the pistol into his holster and sat down on the bench on the opposite site of the slayer.  
  
"So, you are the new slayer," he said and eyed her from head to toe. "You don't look that impressive."  
  
"Fuck you," Faith snarled and tried her hardest to kill her enemy by just glaring at him.  
  
"And what a dirty mouth you have. I think I like you," he told her with a smile, but grew quickly serious again. "Well, a job is a job. Any last wishes?"  
  
"Yeah," she said and motioned with her head for him to lean closer. Xander thought about it for a second, but finally complied and leaned closer, so his ear was only a few inches away from her mouth. "Scream my name when you die," she whispered into his ear. But before Xander could react, she threw her head back and slammed is as fast as she could in the direction of the assassin, head butting him hard. The force of the blow threw Xander back on the bench and left him dazed for a few seconds.  
  
That was all the time Faith needed. The chains of he shackles that were already damaged from her previous attempts finally snapped..  
  
Right after that she let loose a series of punches on Xander, who tried his hardest block the attack. Finally, Faith took a large swing at his head , but he caught her fist in his hand and held it there.  
  
"My turn her whispered back," and slammed Faith own fist repeatedly into her face. That gave Xander enough time to stand up. He continued with a punch to her face that sent her stumbling back.  
  
Faith countered with kick at Xander's head, but the assassin quickly ducked under the attack and kicked her supporting leg out from under her.  
  
Faith landed hard on the ground while Xander took a few steps back and drew his pistol from under his jacket. When Faith was back on her feet she stared at the muzzle of the deadly weapon. Slowly she lifted her arms after some motioning from Xander's side.  
  
"Whoa," Xander said and took a deep breath. "I have to say I'm impressed. Thought those shackles might hold you," he exclaimed but shrugged. "Guess there are stronger slayers out there than Buffy."  
  
"Wait a fucking second," Faith gasped out, the surprise audible in her voice. "Buffy? You mean Queen B?"  
  
"Never heard that nickname before, but I think we are talking about the same person," Xander told "Still, doesn't change the situation."  
  
"Now I know why you seemed familiar," Faith said. "You are their friend, right? Xander or something like that?"  
  
"Oh," Xander said mock touched. "So they are still talking about me. I should feel honoured. And for the records, it's former friend," he clarified her previous statement.  
  
"Friend, former friend, I don't really care," Faith said uninterested. "So what, you are going to kill me now?"  
  
"That' the plan," Xander told her. "Someone paid a lot of money to see you dead."  
  
"Juts one question. Who is going to save the world if you kill me?"  
  
"What are you talking about" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"You'll let me explain?" Faith asked. After a second Xander nodded. "Okay, fact is B and her friend a facing a major threat down in Sunnydale."  
  
"And that's something new ? There is always a major threat in Sunnydale," threw Xander back in a sing song voice.  
  
But Faith shook her head. "No, this time I worse. I'm talking apocalyptic bad. They are fighting a hellgoddess. And they are not winning. That's why they wanted me back. The Council managed for me get me pardoned so I could help them. I was on my way to Sunnydale when you stopped us."  
  
"And why do they need you there?" Xander stated. "Buffy and the rest will handle it like they always do."  
  
"Like I said, they are not winning. That's the reason I could think of. Otherwise they wouldn't call for my help," Faith said, emphasizing the word my.  
  
Xander took a minute to muster the dark slayer a bit closer. "And what did you do to get the slayer's wrath on you," he finally asked.  
  
"I killed a few people," Faith muttered. "And I worked for the other side. Then she stabbed me and put me into a coma."  
  
Even if the situation was anything that funny, Xander could help but laugh at the whole thing. "Yeah, she is a real piece of work," he said still shaking and wiped a tear form his eyes. "Me, she put me into a wheelchair. Not for long but she still did," he said and shook his head. "Time's up slayer. Still, bad luck for you. I have a contract to fulfil," Xander said and raised the pistol.  
  
"Are you stupid you dumb fuck," Faith interrupted him with anger. "Armageddon, Apocalypse. The world is going to be destroyed. That means you will also be killed. Even if you don't like Queen Buffy, survival should be a pretty good argument to let me leave, don't you think so? Hey, if you let me leave and we manage to save the world you can still kill me. "  
  
Xander thought about her words, but he couldn't find an argument against them. But he didn't lower the pistol in his hands. Finally he made a decision.  
  
"Here," he said and threw the guard's keys in Faith's direction who was barely able to catch them.  
  
"Come on," Xander said and walked out of the truck, Faith followed him, while removing the rest of the shackles from her wrists.  
  
"Wait a second," she stopped him. "I never said that I want to go with you."  
  
"Look Faith," Xander said as they walked up to his car. "You made some good points back there. If you told me the truth about the Apocalypse, then I will forget about my contract. I may be some cold hearted bastard, but even I don't want to see the world sucked into hell. But if you lied to me, then I will kill you in a very creative way. And believe me, I've got pretty creative over the years."  
  
Faith swallowed hard while the two walked up to Xander's car, just as the first guard tried to stand up. Xander dimply kicked him in the head, knocking him out for the second time.  
  
"So, to Sunnydale," Xander said as the two stepped into the car.  
  
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"So what do you know about this enemy we're facing?" Xander finally asked after the two sat there for half an hour in silence. Xander floored the pedal as they sped towards Sunnydale  
  
"Not much. Invincible, super strong, super fast," Faith explained and counted with her fingers. "Also has a lot of minions. She is searching for something called the key. It's something that has the power to send her back to her dimension, but that would also destroy the rest of this universe."  
  
"And what is that key?" Xander asked.  
  
"I don't know," Faith admitted. "I think B knows it, but she didn't want to talk about it on the phone."  
  
"First smart move she ever did," Xander muttered  
  
"So tell me," Faith asked. "What's your problem with Queen B?"  
  
"Already said it," Xander said "She put me in a wheelchair."  
  
"Care to tell a bit more," Faith said with growing interest. "Because when I asked about your photo they told me that you were their best friend but that you had to leave the town. Always knew there was something else behind that, but I never asked."  
  
Xander looked a few second at the slayer. Finally he sighed. "You ever heard of Angel."  
  
"Yeah, Buffy's ex. Vampire with soul, lost it when he and B did the nasty and was killed shortly after that.," Faith summed up what she had heard during her time in Sunnydale. "Red told me the story once."  
  
"Yeah," Xander agreed with a dry laugh. "What she didn't tell is that I was the one who killed him."  
  
"You," Faith said with wide eyes. "You killed the scourge of Europe?" Xander only nodded. "I'm already feeling honoured just sitting here next to you. So what happened?"  
  
"Buffy lost it," Xander said "She beat me up, I fell down a staircase while she did it.. broke my spine and ended up paralysed."  
  
"Ouch," Faith exclaimed with a grimace. "So, how come you can walk again:"  
  
"Someone offered me to take me out of the wheelchair. And I accepted that offer."  
  
"And the same guys ordered you to kill me?" Faith asked. "I'm curious. how much money would someone pay just to get rid of me."  
  
"5 Million dollars;" Xander said  
  
"Wow. That much," Faith exclaimed shocked. Xander nodded. "I never knew I was worth that much."  
  
The conversation trailed off as they entered the outskirts of Sunnydale.  
  
"So, what are you gonna do when this is over?" Faith asked finally. "Want to give B a bit of her own medicine?"  
  
"I haven't thought about it.....", Xander started but quickly stopped when he saw what was going on the other side of the street.  
  
Faith followed his gaze and spotted what he saw. But like him she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Xander immediately stepped on the brakes, stopping right on the street. Both took another looked through the back of the car before they looked at each other.  
  
"Tell me if I'm mistaken," Xander exclaimed "but was that there a campervan with knights chasing it."  
  
"Yep," Faith said. "And a blonde a that awfully looked like B fighting them on top of it."  
  
"Just wanted to check," Xander said and turned the car in the direction the trailed and the knights had taken. "Thought the job finally caught up with me," he said and stepped on the gas pedal. 


	6. Default Chapter

The campervan drove down the road, Buffy fighting a couple of knights on top of it while the others followed the car on their horses. Xander and Faith drove at top speed after the fleeing vehicle.  
  
"Do me a favour Faith," Xander said, his eyes focused on the road.  
  
"Yeah?" Faith exclaimed.  
  
"Hand me that briefcase behind your seat," Xander told her.  
  
Faith did as she was asked and reached behind her seat. She immediately found the briefcase and handed it over to Xander.  
  
"Thanks," Xander said and flicked it open with his right, without loosing sight of the road.  
  
"Whoa," Faith exclaimed when Xander took the Mp5k from the interior "What are you gonna do with that?" she asked.  
  
"Shooting down knights," he told her with a grin as he switched the submachine gun to three round burst. "Take over," he told her and motioned for the steering wheel.  
  
Faith unfastened her seatbelt and leaned over to take the steering wheel in both her hands. Xander meanwhile opened the window and began leaning out of it.  
  
There was a slight reduction in speed when Faith had to take over the gas pedal but finally Faith sat in the drivers seat as Xander sat on the frame of the window.  
  
Xander took the Mp5 and aimed at the nearest of the knights. Hitting was a different matter, since the road was anything but even and his shooting position was not really stable.  
  
But finally two of his shots went through the thick chainmail and threw him of his horse. Xander shifted his aim at the second and after a few shots this one also collapsed on the road.  
  
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The leader of the groups looked over his shoulder when the first of his comrades went down.  
  
Cursing under his breath he motioned with his hand to his other two knights to attack their pursuer. The two knights nodded and first the on, then the other turned their horses around, riding right into Xander's direction.  
  
Their leader meanwhile leader jumped from his horse and climbed up the ladder on the back of the campervan, grimacing as he saw another one his knights go down.  
  
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"Uh oh," Xander muttered.  
  
"What?" Faith asked irritated.  
  
"I think they finally noticed us," Xander stated as he looked at the two advancing knights.  
  
"So what. Shoot them down like the other two," Faith stated.  
  
But Xander just grinned at her. "No."  
  
"No?" Faith exclaimed as Xander climbed completely out of the car and first on the roof of the car, then on the hood. He stood there with his legs apart trying to balance himself as good as possible. Inside the car Faith just shook her head. "What a nutjob. I should have let him kill me. Would have spared me a lot of trouble, " Faith muttered.  
  
Meanwhile Xander stood on the hood and focused on the first knight that advanced him. He had a spear in his hand and aimed it at Xander's chest. But before the spear could impale him, Xander grabbed the weapon behind the tip. But he didn't stop there. He lifted the knight out of his saddle, as he refused to release his hold on his weapon and threw him over his head  
  
The knight landed about six meters behind the car, breaking his neck on the impact.  
  
Xander shifted his attention to the second knight. He took the spear and aimed at the attacker and with all strength he threw the weapon in the direction of the knight.  
  
The knight looked with shook at the advancing spear, but it was too late for him to react. The spear impaled itself in his chest, killing him immediately. The horse with his dead body passed the BMW, Faith looking a bit shocked at the corpse.  
  
Xander kneeled down on the hood and looked at Faith. "Get us closer," he shouted. Faith got the message and stepped even harder on the gas pedal.  
  
When they were about ten meters away Xander made himself ready. With all the power his hyena powers could provide him with he jumped over the distance. Xander stretched his arms out and a grabbed the ladder.  
  
"Fuck me," Faith cursed with disbelief at the sight.  
  
As her climbed up the ladder Xander couldn't help but smile. Sometimes it was a good feeling to let the hyena loose. He jumped the rest on the top of the campervan, where Buffy was currently fighting with three knights. Xander didn't hesitate a second and took the Mp5 from the sling around his back and fired a salvo at the one of the knights. The knight immediately collapsed and fell down the campervan.  
  
The other one instantly spotted the absence of his comrade and advanced on Xander.  
  
Xander just wanted to shift his aim at his attacker, but unfortunately his gun had run dry during the fight. Not having time enough to reload the submachine gun he blocked the first stike with the weapon.  
  
He pushed the knights sword away and punched him with the Mp5 in the face. The dazed knight was not able to react when Xander simply threw him off the roof and down on the street.  
  
When he turned around he noted that Buffy had take care of her attacker in an equal fashion. The blonde slayer looked after the body of her adversary and then focused her eyes on her unknown saviour.  
  
Her look of concentration from the fight instantly grew to one of shock when she realised who had helped her out.  
  
"Xander?" she finally asked shell shocked.  
  
For one second Xander was tempted to just let the animal inside of him loose. But years of training allowed him to calm down enough not to through Buffy off the campervan.  
  
But before anything else could happen the campervan jolted and threw both Buffy and Xander off the roof.  
  
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While Xander and Buffy had fought the knights on the roof of the campervan, another knight had approached. Realising that his squad could not win the fight he decided to disable their enemy.  
  
He fired a well placed crossbow bolt into the front tire of the campervan. That resulted in Giles loosing control over the vehicle. The campervan fell to the side and skidded a few more meters by its own momentum  
  
Faith, who had been driven directly behind the vehicle, lost control over the BMW as she tried to avoid colliding with the other vehicle. The car flipped over itself and landed on it's roof.  
  
Xander and Buffy landed on different sides of the campervan. When Xander came back to his senses he realised that he was lying on his back and that he had thankfully no broken bones.  
  
He opened his eyes and stood up, brushing some of the dust of his clothes. The dust cloud from the crash covered nearly the whole area around the campervan. He immediately spotted his crashed car and decided to check on Faith first. So he quickly ran to the damaged car.  
  
"Faith," Xander called out. But right on track the left door was pushed open and the dark slayer crawled out of the car.  
  
"Well, that was a fun ride," Faith muttered as Xander helped her on her feet.  
  
"You okay?" he asked  
  
"Five by five stud," Faith exclaimed.  
  
"Good," Xander said and scanned their surrounding. "Go over there and help them," Xander said and pointed at the wrecked campervan. Buffy stood on top of the now heaven facing left side of the vehicle, helping her friends out of the door.  
  
Faith nodded and sprinted in the direction of the campervan, while Xander crawled into the BMW. He quickly took some more magazines for the Mp5 out of the briefcase. Replacing the empty clip with a new one he climbed out of the wreck and ran in the direction of the campervan.  
  
In the distance he could already spot the next wave of knights that advanced on their position. He immediately quickened his pace.  
  
He had already spotted the patrol station in the distance, deciding that this was their best cover they could get in this little time. The numbers of the knights were just too great to fight them on open field.  
  
When he reached the group, Willow, Miss Calender, Giles, some blond girl he didn't know and someone under a blanket were already standing besides the campervan. He ignored their shocked stares and climbed up on the side of the vehicle.  
  
"Where is she?" he asked Faith who stood besides the open door.  
  
"Just went in there," she said and motioned for the entrance.  
  
"Get them over there," Xander said and pointed at the petrol station on the other side of the road. "It will give us at least a bit of chance to fight back."  
  
Faith nodded and jumped down the campervan, while Xander hopped inside the vehicle.  
  
Buffy stood in the middle of the wrecked car,desperately searching for someone.  
  
"Dawn," Buffy called out. "Where are you?"  
  
"Who are you looking for?" he asked, trying to let his voice sound as emotionless as possible.  
  
Buffy jumped at the sudden sound and whirled around. "My sister," She finally said. That statement caused a confused look on Xander's face."She is here somewhere. The other's lost track of her when the van collapsed."  
  
"Get out of here," Xander said and walked around her "I will find her."  
  
"No," Buffy interjected. "I won't leave her here."  
  
"Go now," Xander said in his most commanding tone. "Take care of the others. They are in the petrol station on the other side of the road. I will follow with your sister."  
  
Buffy hesitated fro another second but finally, she turned around and went to the exit.  
  
Xander instead walked in the other direction, entering the back room of he campervan. His senses had already told him that girl was trapped under one of the fallen dressers.  
  
He quickly lifted it up and pulled her out from under it.  
  
"Hey," he said and slapped her softy in the face. A second later her eye fluttered. "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah," Dawn said and tried to stand, but quickly collapsed when her sprained ankle couldn't support her weight. "Well, mostly."  
  
"Its okay," Xander said and carried her out of the campervan. Xander carefully helped her down from the fallen vehicle and together they walked in the direction of the petrol station.  
  
They were about twenty meters from the station when the first wave of knights appeared behind them. Xander whirled around and fired taking down three nights with well placed three round burst. But the next few knights were already approaching.  
  
"Go," he ordered Dawn. "I'll cover you."  
  
The young girl immediately limped in the direction of the station, Xander slowly following her by walking backwards.  
  
Xander continued firing, taking five more knights down. But one of their leader's finally realised the situation and fired a bolt from his crossbow that hit Xander in his upper leg.  
  
The assassin instantly collapsed on the ground, but not without taking one more knight down with his last three bullets. He quickly changed magazines and took two more down that had managed to approach up to two meters.  
  
Suddenly Xander began moving again. He looked over his shoulder and realised that Buffy was dragging him to the petrol station, Faith taking care of Dawn in the meantime.  
  
Xander looked back and the knights and decided to cover their retreat. He continued firing at the knights, taking down the ones that were closest to him and Buffy. When they entered the station he used his last three bullets to kill the knight that had shot him in the leg.  
  
Buffy carefully placed him beside the door. "You okay?" she asked worried.  
  
Xander nodded, not having the strength to start and argument right now.  
  
Buffy quickly rushed to where Dawn sat and began checking on her. For the first time Xander noticed the three women that sat in the middle of the room. Willow, Miss Calender and the blonde girl held hands and were chanting, preparing obviously some kind of spell. He just hoped that it was a useful one.  
  
He again changed magazines, aiming out of the door. But luckily the knights had lot of trouble regrouping thanks to the fact that he had taken care of their leader.  
  
Xander jumped when suddenly a blue wall of energy appeared around the petrol station, shielding them from their enemies.  
  
He sighed and placed the Mp5 besides him on the ground. Gripping the crossbow bolt with both hands he pulled it finally out.  
  
Xander threw the bolt away and grimaced at the pain. He knew that his healing abilities would take care of the wound in a few hours, that didn't mean that it didn't hurt.  
  
"Damn bastards," he cursed under his breath. "Someone should show them the benefits of bullets," he muttered, but right after he had said these words her realised how insane they were. "Well, when I think about it. Maybe they shouldn't."  
  
Xander closed his eyes and took some deep breath to calm his racing heart down.  
  
When he opened them again he saw that most of the people in the room were staring at him, the ones that knew him like they had seen a ghost.  
  
"Xander?" Willow finally asked, not sure about the identity of her long lost friend.  
  
Slowly standing up, while he tried not to use his bad leg, he walked up to the group, replaying one sentence over and over in his head: "Here we go," he finally whispered to himself. 


	7. Default Chapter

Hi everyone. Finally the next part of Stolen Innocence is finished. Sorry that it took me so long, but RL was pretty hard to ignore. I hope you like the new part.  
  
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"Xander?" Willow repeated her question.  
  
But the former slayerette just calmly stared at the group, noting that some of his former friends were not longer apparent and that others had joined them.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the infamous Scooby gang," Xander finally declared with a hint of sarcasm. "Seems like you have a few additions," he said His gaze flicked from Tara and stopped on Dawn. "Who is the girl by the way. Isn't she a bit young to be vampire slaying?"  
  
The Scoobs first looked confused at the assassin and then at each other. Finally Buffy asked the question that was running through their combined minds.  
  
"You don't remember?" Buffy asked.  
  
"No," Xander said, if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I've never met her. So, who is she?"  
  
Again the Scoobs tried to find an appropriate answer, but couldn't come up with anything. Luckily Giles came to their rescue.  
  
"Her name is Dawn. She is Buffy's sister," Giles explained carefully.  
  
"Buffy's sister?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow and mustered the Watcher. "So, that's means Joyce adopted her. Well can't blame her what with the disappointment her daughter is."  
  
The first look of total confusion was only interrupted by the look of guilt and hurt on Buffy's face. The slayer wasn't able to look any longer in Xander's direction and instead stared at the ground.  
  
"Where is she anyway?" Xander asked bringing the Scoobs out of their thoughts. "The whole gang is escaping from Sunnydale and you leave her behind?"  
  
Even though she still felt guilty, Buffy looked up and glared angrily at Xander. "She is dead."  
  
Giles stepped up behind his slayer and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She died earlier this year. Brain tumour."  
  
Xander swallowed hard before answering. He didn't know Joyce that well, but he could imagine that her death was probably a worse punishment for Buffy than anything he could inflict on her. "Sorry to hear that," he said, his voice softer and calmer now. "I really am."  
  
That statement was instantly answered with a snort. "Like you bleeding care."  
  
Xander's eyes focused on the speaker and for the first time he spotted the platinum blonde vampire that had up to now hid himself behind the group.  
  
"What in God's almighty name is Spike doing here," he asked in a mix of anger and surprise. "And why isn't he dust?"  
  
But before the chipped vampire could mutter any kind of protest, Buffy found her voice again. "He has a chip," she told him. "He can't hurt anything human. That's all you need to know."  
  
Even if the mention of Joyce death took a lot of fire out of his anger, the presence of the vampire only let it flare up again.  
  
"Oh, I get it. Making time with a corpse again. 'He has a chip. He has a soul'," he exclaimed, imitating Buffy's words."You never learn from you mistakes, do you Summers? Every vampire walking on God's earth should be killed on sight, not matter what."  
  
"Watch it Droopy," Spike finally exclaimed and stared angrily at the Tarakan. "Or I will snap your bloody neck."  
  
"Oh, please," "people that were more intelligent or," after a look on Buffy," blonder than you tried that and I'm still standing."  
  
"I think we are all missing a crucial point here," Giles said and interrupted the upcoming argument between Xander and the vampire.  
  
"Yeah," Willow finally spoke up. "How is it possible that you can walk? And where were you? Cordy just told us that you had to leave for some kind of new therapy."  
  
"You want an answer," Xander said and grabbed his left hand. He ripped the ring off his finger and threw it in the general direction of Buffy, who caught it easily in mid air. "Well here is your answer."  
  
Buffy mustered the ring for a moment, but couldn't find anything odd about it. Finally Giles took the ring out of her hand and inspected it himself.  
  
"Oh my good lord," Giles muttered and looked at Xander. The assassin simply stared back. "You can't be serious."  
  
"What?" Willow asked impatiently. "What's up with the ring?"  
  
"That's the same kind of ring the Brotherhood of Taraka wore," Giles said without looking at the redhead. "Xander's one of their assassins."  
  
The hacker looked shocked at her former best friend. "Xander," she started after a moment, "please tell me that it's not true."  
  
"There is nothing left to say," Xander stated. "He said everything you need to know."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why? Let me think about it," Xander said and pretended like he thought about the situation. "Well, maybe it's due to the fact that a certain someone put me into a wheelchair and that they were the only ones that offered me to get out of it."  
  
"So you sold your soul in order to walk again?" Willow accused him.  
  
"You just don't get it," Xander said and walked up to the redhead. "We're not on the same level here. Maybe I should break your spine, just so you can see what it is like to feel completely helpless," Xander threatened her and Willow took a few steps back. "I did what I had to do in order to restore what was taken from me. You have a problem with that? Like I give a damn. You people lost every right to judge me when you supported her," he screamed angrily and pointed at Buffy. He took a few seconds to gather his thoughts  
  
"If I could choose," he continued much calmer now," I wouldn't be here. I would be in Hawaii and let myself get baked by the sun. But Faith told me that there is trouble brewing, end of the world kind of trouble. And even if I don't want to admit it, that includes me. Because I want to see the world spinning with me on top of it. That I can't stand you people doesn't change the situation. Now, if you got something important to tell me, I'm in the other room," Xander said and walked out of the room.  
  
Now that Xander was out of sight, all eyes of the current inhabitants were directed at Faith.  
  
"Hey guys," the dark slayer exclaimed with mock cheerfulness. "Miss me?"  
  
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"Are you finished?" Murk asked for the tenth time in an equal amount of minutes.  
  
"No, I'm not," Ben exclaimed frustrated and glared at Glory's minion. "I'm not exactly an expert on these things. It will take several attempts."  
  
"Well, try harder," Murk told him and walked up and down in Buffy's bedroom. "Glorificius will be angry if she doesn't know the location of the key when she returns."  
  
"Relax, okay?" Ben tried to reassure him and concentrated again and the bowl with Buffy's brush in it. "At least we know that they are not longer in Sunnydale."  
  
"Remember," Murk told him, "you and the glorious one have a common goal. You will be free once she returns to her home."  
  
"I'm doing what I can," Ben told him angrily, his concentration breaking again. "But it's not exactly easy with you guys hovering around."  
  
"If it'll help you, I will remain silent," the minion replied and bowed slightly.  
  
Ben returned to his task and when he finally reached the level of concentration, he chanted the words that would complete the location spell. A small ball of light formed itself in the bowl and floated to the road map. It circled the map a few seconds before it finally settled down on a specific place.  
  
Ben quickly grabbed the pen that lay beside him and marked the area on the map before the ball could disappear again.  
  
"They are here," he told the minion triumphantly and pointed on the map.  
  
"Excellent," Murk exclaimed and pulled Ben out of the room. "Let us hurry. The glorious one will be pleased with out success."  
  
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After his quick exit Xander walked in the back room of the station. He sat down and quickly went through his ammunition reserves. He still had two magazines for the Mp5 and there for the SOCOM. A peek through one of the windows at the knights that had surrounded them, confirming his fear that he would need something more to get out of here.  
  
Finally he sat down again and listened to the conversation that took place on the other side of the door. After he left the Scoobies began questioning Faith. But there was nothing much left to say, since the Council had already informed them when Faith was going to be released.  
  
The last thing was able to hear, was that Faith said she was going to join him, then a spell from Willow and then nothing. The weird thing was that he couldn't even hear the heartbeats of the people, which brought him to the conclusion that Willow had performed some kind of silence spell on the room.  
  
"Hey there tough guy," Faith exclaimed when she entered the room. "Need some company?"  
  
"How are you doing;" Xander asked without looking up at her.  
  
"A couple bruised ribs, nothing major," she exclaimed and sat down beside him. "Should be healed in a few hours. I have to admit, that was one hell of a speech. Haven't heard anything like that since Cordelia."  
  
"Cordy?" Xander exclaimed surprised and looked at her.  
  
"Yeah," Faith said. "You knew her."  
  
Xander nodded simply. "How is she?"  
  
"Pretty good I would say," Faith told him with a shrug. "She is now living in LA."  
  
Xander again nodded. "Were you friends?" he asked after a slight pause.  
  
"Yep," Faith said with smile. "We both didn't like B, so there was a common ground. She never told me why she hated Buffy, but now I have pretty good idea. Cause every time I asked her she got his pained look on her face and even I knew when I should shut up," Faith told him. "But even she couldn't stop me from slipping into the darkside. But at least I didn't try to kill her. That was also the reason why I went to her when I woke up from my coma. She helped me. Got me back on my feet. And she also convinced me to surrender my butt to the authorities to pay for my crimes. Luckily just in time before big bad Queen Buffy could get her hands on me."  
  
"Yeah," Xander exclaimed and got a flashback to the night that changed his life. "You don't want to meet her in that state."  
  
"Yep. Been there, done that, got the scar on my stomach to prove it," Faith told him with a smile "Funny, huh? We are the outcasts here, even when we save their asses."  
  
"Yeah," Xander muttered. "Guess some things never change."  
  
Their conversation was however interrupted when the door opened again and Jenny carefully entered the room.  
  
"Hi Xander," the former teacher greeted him and walked up to the twosome.  
  
"I'm not in the mood Miss Calendar," Xander snapped at her.  
  
"It's Ms. Giles actually," she corrected him with a slight smile.  
  
"Well, congratulations," Xander told her honestly but grew serious again. "So, why did they send you?" he asked like he didn't care. "So that I crawl back to them and say how sorry I am and that I was wrong? They think that they send a pretty face and suddenly everything is forgiven"  
  
"Xander, I really don't know if I should thank you for the compliment or slap you because you think so low of me," She told with a serious expression. "I'll let it slip this time, but you'll get in some serious trouble if you repeat this. Understood?"  
  
slapp - should be : slap  
  
"Yes Ma'am," Xander replied with a mock salute.  
  
"Okay," Jenny told him with a smile. "And to answer your question: No, I'm not here because they sent me. I'm neither here to judge nor am I here to tell you how to live you life." She took a deep breath before she continued. "I'm her to apologize."  
  
"Huh," Xander asked confused "Why's that?"  
  
"You see, I keep replaying the whole thing in my head," she explained. "What if I had told Buffy earlier about the curse? That would have sparred us all a lot a grief and especially you a lot of pain. So I wanted to apologize for what happened to you that night."  
  
"It's was not your fault," Xander reassure the older woman."I chose to kill Angel. You had nothing to do with that. The only ones responsible for these events are me and her."  
  
"Still," Jenny continued. "I fell like it's my fault."  
  
Xander sighed and went with his hands thought his hair. Finally he looked his former teacher in the eyes. "I forgive you," he said sincerely.  
  
"Thanks," Jenny said with a smile. The three just remained where they were for the next few more seconds.  
  
"I know I said I didn't want to judge you," she said. "But I'm curious. What's it like to be an assassin?"  
  
Xander chuckled at the question. "Well, interesting. You meet humanity's scum and put a bullet through their heads"  
  
"Sounds not like the most fulfilling job," the wicca exclaimed.  
  
"I did what I had to do," Xander explained. "What would you have done in my situation? I was crippled, my friends and my parents gave a shit about me and the only way for me to survive was to take the offer."  
  
Jenny looked the young man directly in the eyes and for a second she could see the haunted look that inhabited them "And you paid for it," she declared in a neutral voice.  
  
"Dearly," Xander told her without breaking the eye contact.  
  
"Xander," she continued after a moment. "You're wrong when you think that your friends didn't care about you. There are in fact three people out there that are very sorry for their actions and want to apologize to you."  
  
But Xander simply shook his head. "I'm not ready to deal with them yet. And it's not exactly a good time to say 'I'm sorry. Maybe I'll talk to them when the whole thing is over. But not before."  
  
"Well, it's your choice after all," Jenny told him. "You two should try to get some sleep. You will probably need it," she told them and went to the direction of door.  
  
"Is the barrier still stable?" Faith asked, getting annoyed to the fact that she couldn't take part in the previous conversation.  
  
"It's stable," Jenny confirmed. "We have the power of three witches to power it up. But still: We can't get out, they can't get in. We have to solve this situation somehow."  
  
Xander nodded. "Good night Miss Cale. Ms. Giles," he corrected himself.  
  
"Oh, and call me Jenny," he told him with smile. "Night you two," she said and left the room.  
  
"So, what are we going to do?" Faith asked after a moment.  
  
"Do as she said," Xander said and closed his eyes. "Who knows when we will be able to get some sleep again." 


	8. Default Chapter

Hi guys. Here's the next part. But watch out, the chapter is a bit rushed in some parts. That's mainly because I want to make up for the long time where I didn't post anything to this story. But also because I really want to get to the big fight. But don't worry, I will take more care with the next part. So, have fun with the new part.  
  
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While Buffy and Jenny questioned Faith, Giles walked up to Willow.  
  
"Willow, do you remember the silence spell Jenny taught you last month?" Giles asked the witch.  
  
Willow only nodded at his question.  
  
"I think it would be a good idea to use it now," Giles told her. "We have some very sensitive things to discuss."  
  
Willow nodded and started to prepare the spell. Giles went to rest of the group to join in the conversation they were having with Faith.  
  
"That was it?" Faith asked a bit impatient.  
  
"Yeah," Buffy told her. "That was it for the moment."  
  
"Okay," Faith said and motioned with her thump in the direction of the other room "I think I'm going to join the X-Man. We outlaws have to stick to together."  
  
With these words, Faith turned around and left the room, leaving the Scoobie gang behind her.  
  
"Giles," Willow called out. "I'm finished."  
  
"Alright," Giles said. The watcher took one of the many old chairs and sat down on it. The rest of the group were doing the same, some taking chairs, others simply sat down on the ground. When everyone was comfortable, Giles started. "I think we need to discuss some things."  
  
"Really?" Dawn exclaimed, mocking the watcher. "Okay, let's start why Xander can't remember me."  
  
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "It seemed like he never met Dawn."  
  
"Maybe it has something to do with distance," Tara proposed. "He might have been far away when the spell was cast."  
  
"No," Buffy said and shook her head. "My dad was in Australia around that time and he still remembered her. And that's pretty far away."  
  
"What about the Brotherhood?" Jenny asked. "Maybe they did something to him so he couldn't remember?"  
  
Giles thought about that possibility for a moment. "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't have enough information about their organisation to make a judgement about this theory."  
  
"I thinks that not the most important thing," Buffy interjected. "The serious question is, can we trust him? I don't want to admit it, but right now we can probably trust Faith more than him."  
  
"Yeah," Tara agreed. "What if Glory sent him to capture Dawn?"  
  
"Oh come on Tara," Dawn said. "He rescued me out of the van."  
  
"Yeah, but Glory needs you safe in her hands, not dead and destroyed," Buffy reminded her. "If he works for her, it's in his best interest to protect you."  
  
"I don't think that he works for Glory," Giles declared. "It's not her style to contract someone for her work. She's too arrogant to do something like that. And especially not for something this important."  
  
"Let's sum up what we know," Jenny exclaimed "Faith told us that she ran into him when he was assigned to assassinate her, but changed his mind when she told him of our problem here. What I would like to know is, who would want to see her dead. Not the Council, they pardoned her after all."  
  
"Maybe some wealthy watcher who isn't satisfied with the council's decision?" Willow speculated. "So he contracted someone who's ties couldn't be linked back to the Council?"  
  
"Might be possible," Giles agreed with the redhead.  
  
"Hello, we went a bit off topic here," Buffy reminded the group. "We still don't know if we can trust Xander."  
  
"Maybe the knights contracted him?" Tara threw in  
  
"Not possible," Willow quickly interjected. "He could have handed them Dawn when they were approaching him. Add to that that he killed a lot of them. And the knights want to destroy the key. He would have had many opportunities to kill her."  
  
The group kept silent for a couple of minutes, each one of them contemplating what they discussed earlier.  
  
"So," Dawn finally said. "Are we gonna tell him about my 'special status'?"  
  
"I don't know," Buffy admitted quietly  
  
"But I think he has a right to know," Dawn threw in. "Like when you told the gang guys about me. I think I should know what he is fighting for."  
  
"She has a point here," Buffy admitted.  
  
"If you asked me," "Spike said, speaking up for the first time this conversation has started. "You should kill him right now before he even has the chance to become a problem."  
  
Buffy glared at the vampire. "Shut up," she told him angrily. "It's your fault that Glory found out about Dawn. You're lucky that I haven't staked you yet."  
  
"Bloody hell," Spike responded. "That bitch was torturing me slayer. Even you wouldn't have been able to withstand that kind of pain."  
  
"One more word from you," Buffy told him menacingly, "and ,useful or not, I will make you death more painful than anything she could have done to you. Understood?"  
  
Spike kept quiet, knowing that she would probably make her words come true.  
  
"I think we shouldn't tell him about Dawn," Giles said. "At least not until we are sure about his loyalties."  
  
No one really could object against this plan, so they silently agreed to it.  
  
"Good," Giles said. "I think we all should try to get some sleep. We will need our strength in order to escape this deathtrap here."  
  
As the Scoobies rose from their positions in order to find a place to sleep, Jenny walked up to her husband. "Rupert, I'll check on them," she told him and motioned for the other room. "Just to make sure they are okay."  
  
"You do that," Giles told her.  
  
"Okay," Jenny said and turned around.  
  
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When Faith woke up, she immediately realised that sun had set and that it was dark outside. She immediately spotted Xander. He stood in front of the windows and looked at something outside the building.  
  
"What's up?" she asked and rubbed her sleepy eyes.  
  
"I don't know," Xander admitted and peered out of the window. "Something's going on with those knights."  
  
Faith stood up and joined him at the window. "Yeah, they seem kinda exited."  
  
Xander nodded. "Something's going at the front of the building."  
  
He turned around and walked in the direction of the door, Faith following him close behind. "I think we should join the others. Maybe they know something more."  
  
When they entered the room, everyone of the Scoobies was near the wall, trying to get a good look at what was going on outside.  
  
"Any idea what's going on?" Xander asked. He and Faith also took position one of the windows.  
  
"They sent a couple of mages," Willow answered his question "Probably to tear down the barrier."  
  
"Will it work?" Xander asked and glanced at his childhood friend.  
  
Willow returned glance for a few seconds before she answered. "I don't think so. Those guys are amateurs. But we should be careful."  
  
Xander nodded. "I'll stay here and watch them. The rest of you should try to get some more rest," Xander said and continued staring out of the window.  
  
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Even from the distance the gas station was clearly visible. And the fact that the large group of knights had gathered around it attracted even more attention.  
  
When the old building was in sight, Ben immediately shut down the lights of his car. He drove a few more meters and parked at the side of the car.  
  
"Well," he said and looked at Murk, who said on the passenger's seat. "I think we found them."  
  
"I agree with you," the minion said and looked at the building.  
  
Ben looked around, his gaze stopping temporarily at the three minions that sat on his back seat and finally settling down on Murk again.  
  
"So, what now," he asked annoyed.  
  
"Now we wait for the arrival of the glorious one, so she can obtain the key," he said.  
  
"Great," Ben muttered under his breath. "I hate waiting."  
  
But right after he said these words his body convulsed in pain.  
  
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Xander continued staring out of the window, noting each of the knight's position in his head. I wouldn't do him any good if they would be able to break the barrier, but he wanted to take as many of them with him if it would come to this case.  
  
"Are they still trying it?" Giles asked from behind him.  
  
"No. They have given up," Xander said without turning around. "They are deciding what to do next."  
  
"By the way," Giles said and stepped up beside him. "You might want this back," he said and handed Xander the ring.  
  
Xander eyed it for a few seconds, before he reached out on took into his hand.  
  
"Thanks," he said and stuffed the ring into one of his pockets. "But it's nothing more than a souvenir. I'm not longer working for Brotherhood."  
  
"You quit?" Giles asked with a raised eyebrow. "And the thing with Faith?"  
  
"Last job," Xander explained. "Would've made a nice bonus for starting a new life."  
  
Giles sighed before asking his next question. "So, why didn't you do it?"  
  
"What?" Xander asked confused.  
  
"Killing Faith," Giles clarified his question.  
  
"Oh that," Xander said and shrugged. ""She is not that kind of person."  
  
"What do you mean?" Giles asked.  
  
"Most people I was assigned to were real scumbags," Xander explained to the watcher. "Not worth the paper their files were printed on. When you are at the top of the food chain at the Brotherhood, you only are assigned to the real bad guys. When I read her file I thought she was like the others. But she showed remorse for the people she killed And the fact that the world is ending again tipped the scales finally in her favour."  
  
"I'm glad to see that haven't fallen too deep into the dark side," Giles told him with a smile. He paused a second before he continued. "And I'm glad that you are back Xander."  
  
The assassin eyed the older man a few seconds before he responded. "If you think I will just forgive you Giles, than you're are awfully mistaken. I will try and act as professional as possible during this thing. Don't expect something noble from me afterwards."  
  
"I understand. I guess that's the best we can expect after everything that happened. I just hope that you will at least give us the chance to make up to you," Giles told him. The Englishman waited a few more seconds before he turned around to join the rest of the group.  
  
Xander looked after the Englishman and shook his head. He again looked out of the window to monitor everything that as going on outside, which was no problem with his hyena sense.  
  
Because of that he was able to see the blonde woman even before the knights were able to do it. "What's the blonde doing here," asked himself, but right after that the woman began to attack the knights.  
  
"Shit," Xander cursed as the woman tore through a group of knights. "Ah, guys?" he called out to get everyones attention. "Is this hell goddess you are facing a blonde."  
  
"Yeah, why?" Willow asked.  
  
"Because there is a blonde out there that goes through the knights like they are made of tissue paper," Xander said and pointed out of the window.  
  
Buffy quickly ran up to the window and took a look out of it.  
  
"Shit," she cursed. "Will, can the barrier hold her off?"  
  
"No chance," the witch exclaimed. "It will be no problem for her to break through it."  
  
Buffy and Xander left their position at the window and joined the rest of the group in the middle of the room.  
  
"Okay we have to get Dawn out of here," Buffy exclaimed. "Who is the fastest of us?"  
  
"Probably you or Faith," Giles said.  
  
"Oh, I think the X-Man is a way more faster than the two of us," Faith told the watcher with a smile. "He was able to cross ten meters with one jump."  
  
"He did what?" Willow asked bewildered.  
  
"Doesn't matter now," Buffy said and turned her attention towards Xander. "Is she right? Can you outrun a slayer?"  
  
"Haven't tried it," Xander admitted. "But I think I could if I wanted."  
  
"Okay," Buffy said and made a quick decision. "You take her with you"  
  
"What?" Xander asked confused.  
  
"You take Dawn and you two run out of the back," Buffy explained. "The knights are probably distracted. And we'll try to buy you as much time as possible."  
  
"I don't understand," Xander said even more confused. "What's so important about her?"  
  
"We don't have time.." Buffy started, but her efforts were cut short when they head a loud banging sound from the outside.  
  
The sound continued, but only Xander and the ones with the sharper senses realised that the fighting had also quieted down. Which could only mean that Glory had already taken care of the knights.  
  
Suddenly the door in front of them was ripped of its hinges and thrown to the side. Throw the now empty doorway Glory entered the room, quickly scanning the group in search of her key.  
  
"There you are," Glory commented casually looked at Dawn "I really had trouble finding you," she said and shifted her attention to Buffy. "Now be a nice little slayer and give me the key."  
  
"No chance," Buffy said as Spike and Faith walked up to her side.  
  
"Well," Glory exclaimed with a sigh," guess I have to use violence."  
  
Buffy immediately attacked her with a combination of punches and kicks, but the one that made it through Glory's defence had little effect on her. A hard punch from her took Buffy out of the game. While Faith engaged into the combat, Xander tried his hardest to get a clear shot at Glory.  
  
"Great," Xander muttered and cocked the Mp5. "Everyone's standing in my line of fire."  
  
Glory meanwhile had made short work with Faith. She threw the dark haired slayer in the direction of her fellow slayer. Buffy just had gotten back to her feet when the airborne body hit her, knocking her and Faith to the ground. Spike was the last one standing between Glory and the rest of the group. As the vampire received various punches from the goddess, Xander didn't hesitate and fired. The AP rounds went right through Spike's back and hit Glory in the chest.  
  
While the vampire slumped to the floor the shots did little more than to anger the goddess.  
  
"You are so lucky that this wasn't one of my dresses," she commented and motioned at her tattered sweatshirt. She quickly advanced on Xander. "Or else I would be really angry."  
  
Xander meanwhile reloaded the submachinegun, but couldn't finish before Glory could reach him.  
  
The goddess punched him hard in the face, sending Xander flying through the air and unfortunately, also through the wall that stood behind.  
  
Glory didn't hesitate and went through the three witches, ending their attempt to cast a spell her way.  
  
Giles who guarded Dawn also didn't stand a chance. Glory simply threw him to the side and grabbed Dawn's wrist.  
  
"Come on key," Glory told her as she dragged the teenager out of the building. "We have a little journey ahead of us."  
  
"Let me go," Dawn pleaded and tried her hardest free herself form the wise like grip, but with little success.  
  
"Sorry, not going to happen," Glory said and backhanded the newly risen Buffy, sending her to the ground again.  
  
The goddess made her way out of the barrier the same way she entered it, the gap in it closing behind her. Buffy just came a second to late to and slammed into the reinforced forcefield.  
  
Xander meanwhile freed himself out from under the rublbe that covered him, coughing a lungful of dust into the air.  
  
He quickly went to the front of the building, picking his Mp5 up from the ground.  
  
Buffy was already shouting for Willow to lower the field, but the witch was knocked out.  
  
Looking around him, only one thing stuck in Xander's mind. "Yeah, she has a lot of explaining to do," he muttered under his breath.  
  
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"Oh you finally found her," Murk exclaimed and fell to the ground in front of his mistress. Behind him the three minions reacted in the same manner.  
  
"Yes I have her," Glory exclaimed happily and held the still struggling Dawn in her hand. "Now let's go. You drive," she said and pointed one of the minions behind Murk.  
  
"I fear that this is not possible," the minion replied.  
  
Glory looked confused at the minion. After a few seconds she stepped forwards and broke his neck with her free hand.  
  
"Then you drive," she said and pointed at Murk.  
  
"Glorious one," Murk started, "What he wanted to say is not that we wouldn't be glad to transport your enlightening presence. It's just not possible."  
  
"And why not," Glory asked impatiently.  
  
"We don't know how to drive," Murk admitted, with his head down cast.  
  
"You can't drive?" Glory screamed at her head minion. "What are you good for anyway?"  
  
The minions immediately crouched to ground, fearing the wrath of their mistress. Glory sighed, but luckily she came to surprising solution for their problem.  
  
"Hey girly," Glory said and smiled down at Dawn. "Did you pass you driver's education?" 


	9. Default Chapter

The time the group needed to break out of their self constructed prison was enough for Glory escape. That also showed the only disadvantage of the barrier spell. Although Jenny and Tara provided a lot of the power for the barrier, it it was Willow that had constructed and controlled it.  
  
With the red head unconscious the barrier stood firmly in place, the rest of the group unable to do anything. When Willow finally came around she immediately lowered the field, which gave them the opportunity to follow the hellgoddess.  
  
But when Xander, Giles and the two slayers finally reached the street, Glory was long gone.  
  
"No," Buffy exclaimed and broke down right on the street. Giles walked up behind and helped her back on her feet, trying to give as much as comfort as possible.  
  
"Okay slayer," Xander exclaimed angrily once Buffy was back on her feet. "You have some serious explaining to do."  
  
Buffy looked up at him, a mix of confusion, defeat and anger mixed in her eyes.  
  
"You send me into a combat situation without giving me all information," Xander continued without considering to give her some to time recover from her shock. "And frankly I hate it when someone is fucking around with me."  
  
"You asshole," Buffy seethed at him, anger finally winning the argument that took place in her head. "If you had just followed my orders Dawn would be safe and not in Glory's hand."  
  
"Okay, that's it," Xander declared clearly upset. "Who do you think you are? Don't you get it. I never follow your orders. Not now and not when I dealt with you precious boyfriend."  
  
That comment was all Buffy needed to lose her temper. Faster than Xander could react, she punched him hard in face. "Yeah, and that worked out pretty good, huh?" she asked him sarcastically.  
  
But Xander just rubbed his sore jaw and smiled at the blonde slayer. "Want to beat me up again Summers," he asked with a raised eyebrow. Buffy backed a few steps away, when she realised what she had nearly done again. Xander used her momentary distraction to his advantage and threw a right hook a slayer, sending her on her back. "Cause I still remember the last time."  
  
But when he walked up to her, Buffy kicked his legs out from under him. Xander immediately fell to the ground. But Buffy didn't waste a moment and jumped on top of her former friend to continue her attack.  
  
But before she could even swing one attack she was pulled from Xander's body, On the other side Faith did the same with Xander, both slayer and Watcher trying their hardest to keep the two separated.  
  
"Are you two out of your minds," Giles exclaimed, addressing the slayer and the assassin. "Don't you have something more intelligent to do."  
  
"He started it," Buffy stated defensively.  
  
"If I remember correctly you were the one to punch me first," Xander responded in an equal matter.  
  
"Stop it," Giles screamed at both of them. Xander and Buffy immediately stopped their struggle, when they heard the authority in his voice. "Both of you. You are acting like two year olds."  
  
When he could be sure that none of them would attack the other, Giles let go of Buffy and turned around to Xander.  
  
"Xander, you're right, we didn't tell you everything," Giles admitted. "And you can't blame us for it. You are or were working for the Brotherhood. We couldn't be sure about your loyalties. And therefore we decided to withheld certain information from you." Giles waited a few seconds to let the information sink in. "Do you hear me. *We* decided it, not Buffy alone."  
  
Xander contemplated the situation for a moment before he answered. "Okay, I can accept that. I probably would have acted the same way," the assassin admitted. "The question is are you willing to tell me now?"  
  
Giles quickly took a glance over his shoulder and looked at Buffy. After exchanging a long look with his slayer, Buffy finally nodded.  
  
"Yes, we will give you all the information we have," Giles told Xander. "But maybe she should do something useful first." The watcher said and motioned at the wrecked campervan.  
  
Xander nodded. "I guess with two slayers we should be able to get it back onto it's tires."  
  
The group silently walked up to the vehicle and only stopped when Spike walked up to them.  
  
"You," Spike shouted and pointed at Xander. "You shot me. Just look at my duster," the vampire said and showed them one of the bullet holes.  
  
Xander exchanged a quick glance with Giles who stood beside him, and after a second the watcher nodded.  
  
Without loosing a second Xander punched the surprised vampire into the face. The force of the blow sent Spike immediately to the ground.  
  
"Tell it someone who cares," Xander called over his should as the group walked past the fallen vampire, ignoring his moans as he nursed his broken nose. Finally Xander turned his attention back to Giles. "Okay, why is Dawn so important?"  
  
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Mr. Jones was not someone who was easily to scare. But the fact that his superior demanded to see him was not a very good sign. The head of the Brotherhood's headquarter only requested such visits if something was really important happened.  
  
The elevator came to a sudden halt and the doors opened, giving him sight on the long corridor that lead to the main office. Mr. Jones slowly walked up to the door at the end of it, eying the guards at both sides of the door warily.  
  
When he was only three meters away, the guard opened the heavy oak door. Mr. Jones entered the dark room, the door closing immediately behind him. The total darkness that enveloped him was finally interuppted by the stream of light that came from ceiling. Mr. Jones blinked at first and looked around him, but the room was still covered in darkness.  
  
"Mr. Jones," came the booming voice of his superior from somewhere around the room, but he couldn't make out from where. "I'm glad you came this fast."  
  
"It has to something important," Mr. Jones responded as calmly as possible.  
  
"It is," the voice responded. "How is our operation regarding the rouge slayer proceeding?"  
  
"I sent one of our best assassins after her," Mr. Jones explained. "He should have taken care of her by now. I'm only awaiting the conformation of the assassination."  
  
"I fear it's not that simple," the voice stated casually. "I've contacted one of our seers and she reported that no new slayer was called during the last few hours."  
  
"I don't understand that," Mr. Jones mumbled to himself. "She should be dead," he exclaimed. "That either means that Alexander failed or that he..."  
  
"That he spared her life," the voice finished his train of thoughts. "You are in deep trouble Mr. Jones. The contractor is someone with a lot of influence. This contract has to be taken care of as fast as possible."  
  
Mr. Jones nodded. "I will contact team Abraxas. They could be in the area in."  
  
"No," the voice interuppted him. "I think it would be more fitting if it were you to go after assassin Harris," the voice declared. "You will scout out the area in Sunnydale and assassinate the slayer and if necessary our former employee."  
  
"Yes sir," Mr. Jones dutifully responded.  
  
"Good," the voice said and the doors behind Mr. Jones opened. "You can go now."  
  
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"Okay let's get this straight," Xander exclaimed after Giles told him all the facts regarding Dawn. After he and the two slayers had lifted the campervan, Xander had changed the flat tire. That was all that was needed to make the campervan ready to go back to Sunnydale. The Scoobies now sat in the campervan, nursing their wounds and listening to Giles's explanation. Willow still held a pack of ice to her head where Glory's fist had hit her.  
  
"Dawn is in reality a ball of energy called the key. In order to protect it, some monks send it to Buffy and gave her the form of her not existent little sister. They changed everybodies memories, so they would remember her. And Glory needs her in order to return to her own dimension, but that would rip the very fabric of reality apart," Xander summed everything up. "Did I miss anything?"  
  
"No," Giles responded dryly. "That's all."  
  
"Just checking," Xander muttered absently.  
  
"She is not real?" Faith asked confused.  
  
"Well, it's complicated," Giles admitted. "But yes, she is real. She shares the same memories we have. She is Dawn Summers, nothing above or beyond that. Apart from having the energy to destroy the world."  
  
"Why can't you remember her?" Willow asked Xander, questioning something that had bugged everyone since his return.  
  
"The Brotherhood has methods to protect the minds of their operatives," Xander explained. "When the spell was cast it didn't affect me because I was under their protection."  
  
"Well, that explains at least one thing," Giles commented.  
  
"But are we going to do now," Tara asked after a long and silence moment. "I mean our first real battle with Glory and we didn't do too good," she said and glanced at Xander and Faith. "No offence, but you two were not anymore useful than the rest of us."  
  
"Yeah, we lost," Xander admitted. "But we also had a lot against us. She had the initiative, we only could react. She also surprised us. Next time those advantages will be on our side."  
  
"He is right," Giles agreed "The outcome of our skirmish with her would have been different if we would have been prepared."  
  
"Well, let's head back to Sunnydale," Buffy said and stood up. "Let's see if we can convert some of these ideas to reality."  
  
While the Scoobies arranged themselves for the journey, Xander walked up to the door and left the campervan.  
  
"Xander?" Buffy called after him. "What are you doing?"  
  
Xander turned around and for the first since his arrival he smiled. "I'm not coming with you," he declared.  
  
"Ah," Spike responded knowingly from behind Buffy. "You are chickening out."  
  
"No," Xander said, drawing the word out, but he could hear the muttered 'damn' from Spike. "I'm going back to LA. I have some equipment there that would help us. The BMW is a bit crushed but I should make it."  
  
"Okay," Buffy said and walked up to him. She searched through her pockets and finally found the desired item. "Here," she said and handed him the business card. "It's the address of the Magic Box. You can find us there."  
  
Xander nodded and stuffed the card into his jacket. "Try to gather as much intel about Glory as possible. Where she is hiding, what you could use as a weapon against her."  
  
"Okay," Buffy said. "Good luck."  
  
"You too," Xander said and walked in the direction of the wrecked car.  
  
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Xander reached his destination about an hour later. He parked the car beside the garage he had rented and stepped out of it. He quickly opened the door And pressed the light switch.  
  
The light revealed a black van that took most of the place in the garage. But what he wanted was in the back of the room. He walked past the car and up to the boxes that were lied in the.  
  
He had already made a list in the back of his head, so it didn't take him long to decide which of the weapons he would take with him.  
  
I took him a few minutes to load all the equipment into the van. When he was finished he drove the car out of the garage and closed the door behind him. He decided to leave the BMW where it stood. The car was too wrecked to be any use from him anymore. Someone would probably take care of it.  
  
"I hope that's enough to put that bitch into the ground," he muttered while he drove the van in the direction of Sunnydale. 


	10. Default Chapter

Okay, I just noticed something. It's over two months ago that I updated this story. So, after a long time of writing, editing and rewriting I present Stolen Innocence Chapter 10. I hope it fulfills the expectations you guys have.  
  
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Xander parked the van on the opposite side of the street and looked over at the magic shop. Checking the address on the business card one more time, he stepped out of the car and walked across the road.  
  
He opened the door and the chiming bell immediately caught the attention of all the occupants of the room. The Scoobies had gathered around the table in the middle of the room, where Giles was currently treating a wound on Buffy's forehead. Faith ,as usual, kept her distance from the group and sat on top of the counter.  
  
"Nice," Xander commented casually and walked up to them. "Like what you've made out of the place."  
  
"Thanks," Giles replied dryly and continued to clean the cut on Buffy's forehead.  
  
"What happened to her?" he asked and motioned at the blonde slayer.  
  
"We visited one of Spike's contacts for some information about Glory," Buffy answered with a shrug of her shoulder. "Unfortunately this contact also is one of her minions. Instead of greeting us with a warm smile he threw a dagger in my direction and scratched my head."  
  
"Would've paid money to see that," Xander exclaimed and sat down in one of empty chairs, like Faith making sure to keep his distance from the rest of the group "Did you at least get your information?"  
  
"Yes, they did," Giles commented and placed a small bandage over around the wound. "And it's not looking good."  
  
"It's never looking good," Xander told him sarcastically. "But how bad exactly?"  
  
"We have one," Giles said and checked his watch. "Maybe two hours left. That's the time window during which Glory has to perform the ritual to get back to her home dimension."  
  
"One hour," Xander mused and went through his mental checklist. "Should be enough time for us. Do you know where they are?"  
  
"Well," Willow started and turned her laptop in Xander's direction. "I cast a locator spell on Dawn and they're hiding here," she said and pointed at the map of Sunnydale on her screen.  
  
"Interesting," Xander said and leaned forward. "What do you know about the place?"  
  
"It seems to be some kind of abandoned construction site," Willow told him.  
  
Xander nodded and studied the map, analyzing the site and the surrounding buildings. "And how exactly will this ritual be performed."  
  
"They only way they can extract the key's energy from Dawn's body is to make her bleed," Giles explained, falling back into lecture mode. "The blood will then open the portal.."  
  
"And destroy the whole universe," Xander finished the sentence. "Okay. I need fifteen, maybe twenty minutes to finish my preparations. How long do you guys need?"  
  
"Well," Giles exclaimed and looked around. "Basically we're done. We waited for you."  
  
Xander nodded. "Okay, let's get this show on the road," he said and turned to Faith. "Faith, I could use some help with some of the boxes."  
  
"Sure," the dark slayer replied with a shrug and hopped off the counter. "But why do you need my help. Aren't you strong enough to lift that stuff?"  
  
"I am," Xander said with a shrug of his shoulder, as the two walked up to the door. "But if I accidentally drop one box.. Let's just say that Giles would have to search for a new place to run his shop."  
  
While the shocked watcher continued to stare at the retreating backs of the slayer and the assassin, Spike decided to add his two cents.  
  
"Why do we even bother with this fucker?" Spike muttered angrily  
  
"Shut up Spike," the Scoobies told him simultaneously  
  
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Dawn looked up from the chair she was tied to, as the door suddenly opened. She had been here for several hours, most of time alone. Glory had left after they arrived here and only now and then one her minions showed up to check on her. She was however not prepared for the person that entered the room.  
  
"Ben," she called out in relief. "What the hell are you doing here. Doesn't matter. Look, we have to get out of here before the bitch comes back."  
  
"I'm sorry Dawn," Ben told her emotionlessly. "But I can't help you."  
  
"Are you kidding," Dawn asked confused, but noticed for the first time the strange clothes Ben was dressed in. "And why are you wearing a dress?"  
  
"That's because," he started but in mid sentence he turned into Glory "Ben and I've been working pretty close together."  
  
"Oh my god," Dawn gasped out.  
  
"No need to be shocked," Glory told her, as some of her minions strolled into the room to prepare her for the upcoming ritual. "In a few minutes you won't remember any of this," the goddess told the terrified teenager and walked out of the room.  
  
"Why are you here?" Glory asked once she was out of the room.  
  
Doc walked out of the shadow and bowed in front of her. "The slayer and her vampire visited me earlier your splendiness," the demon told her. "They know what you're planning. And with the witches they probably also know where we are hiding."  
  
"The slayer will try to rescue her little sister," Glory stated. "We have to stop her."  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Doc asked eagerly.  
  
"No matter what happens," Glory said. "The ritual has to be completed. And you're the one to make sure that happens."  
  
"As you wish Glorificus," Doc replied dutifully. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
The Scooby gang arrived about ten minutes after Xander had finished his preparations. The van was big enough to transport them all. They stepped out of the car and assembled in front of the construction site.  
  
"Nice," Xander commented and tilted his head in order to examine the tower from a different angle. "In an insane kind of way."  
  
"Yes, I've only seen such a thing in Pisa," Giles agreed and loaded the Benelli shot gun he had taken from one of Xander's boxes. "But we are not here to discuss architecture."  
  
"Right," Xander agreed and stepped back into the van. "Give me ten minutes to set everything up. Then you can start the show."  
  
"Alright," the watcher said. "Good luck Xander."  
  
"Yeah," he said and took his time to look at each of the Scoobies. "You too."  
  
He started the engine and drove the van around the next corner.  
  
"Okay," Buffy said when the car was out of sight. "You all know the plan. Spike and I will face Glory. Giles, you and the others take care of her minions and rescue Dawn."  
  
"I've got one question," Faith interjected. "Shouldn't I join you two against that bitch?"  
  
"Normally yes," Buffy agreed. "But I need someone strong enough to rescue Dawn," she said and looked at Spike. "And I can't trust him to do the job."  
  
"Well," Faith said after a pause. "I'm feeling kinda honoured."  
  
"I'm not," Spike threw in. "I'm feeling insulted."  
  
Buffy turned to him and put on her best fake smile. "Good."  
  
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Xander only had to drive a few hundred meters before he reached his destination. The house was abandoned like most of the buildings in this area. But what made it that more attractive for him was that it was taller than the surrounding.  
  
He quickly left the car, grabbing the rifle case in the back of the van and walked up the stairs to the top of the building.  
  
Once on the roof, he set all his equipment up. His last action was to fasten a long rope to the front of the building.  
  
Satisfied with everything, he took a quick look through his binoculars. As expected he could overlook most of the surrounding area and especially the construction site Glory had chosen as her headquarters. And of course he spotted the girl that was tied to the top of the improvised tower.  
  
He checked his watch a final time. One minute to go.  
  
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"Oh, glorious one," Jinx said and bowed in front of the goddess. "Everything is finished. We are awaiting more of your divine commands."  
  
"Good," Glory exclaimed with a smile. She just wanted to walk in the direction of the tower when a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned around and spotted the entire Scooby gang walking up to her.  
  
"Well," Glory greeted the them. "If its not the slayer and her friends."  
  
"Yeah, we love you too Glory," Buffy replied sarcastically. "Now release my sister and none of us will get hurt. Understood?"  
  
"You're really expecting an answer to that," Glory exclaimed amused and turned her attention to the minions. "Guard the tower. I don't want one of those insects near my key."  
  
"Yes glorious one," Murk replied and began to organize the defence.  
  
"Where is my sister?" Buffy asked.  
  
"You still don't get it do you," Glory said and laughed at her. "You've already lost," she said and motioned to the top of the tower. Buffy followed her hand and immediately spotted Dawn at the end of the platform. But more importantly she saw the figure that walked up to her.  
  
"Even if you would get passed me and my minions you would still be too late," the goddess taunted her.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
Dawn smiled when she saw that her sister and the Scoobies have come to rescue her. She was startled when suddenly someone stood in front of her.  
  
"You," she said, when she remembered him after a moment. "I know you. You helped me when I tried to resurrect my mother. You have to help me."  
  
"Well, it seems that she is going to be a bit delayed," Doc said, ignoring Dawn completely. "But it will be a much greater honour for me to accomplish this task for her."  
  
Dawn looked afraid as the demon focused his, now black eyes at her. "Hey kid," he said with a smile. "Wanna see a trick?" he asked rhetorically and produced a large knife out of nowhere.  
  
Dawn looked terrified at the blade as the demon walked up to her. But almost instantly the smile vanished from Doc's lips.  
  
The body of the demon jerked suddenly and one second later Dawn could hear the sound of a gun shot in the distance.  
  
Doc first looked confused at the teenager and then finally down at his own body. Much to his shock most of his chest had disappeared leaving a hole of the size of a plate in its place.  
  
Dawn looked equally shocked, much to the fact that she could clearly see through Doc's chest.  
  
"That didn't go as planned," he exclaimed weakly.  
  
Dawn's eyes followed doc's body as it fell down the platform and right in front of Glory.  
  
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On the other side of the street, Xander watched as Doc's body fell off the tower. No waiting a second he released the spent .50cal shell from the M82 sniper rifle and slid the bolt forward.  
  
He quickly fired two shots, both bullets cutting through the steel poles Dawn was tied to. The teenager first looked shocked at her now free hands, but quickly pulled herself together and carefully walked in the direction of the other end of the platform.  
  
Scanning the tower for any immediate danger for the young girl, but finding none, he levelled the sniper rifle around and aimed at the now enraged goddess.  
  
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Glory stared shocked at the mutilated body of her head minion. It took her full ten seconds to decide what to do next.  
  
"Kill them all," she screamed at the top of her lungs. Immediately her minions and the insane people under her command advanced on the Scooby gang, preparing to attack them.  
  
But their movement came to a sudden halt, when Glory was thrown back by a powerful impact.  
  
When she finally found her equilibrium again she looked shocked at the Scoobies. The bullet from Xander sniper rifle hadn't been able to penetrate her skin, but the blow matched that of ten slayers.  
  
"What...," the goddess started, but right on that cue the next bullet hit her.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
Xander kept on firing at the surprised goddess, the bullets raining down on her and driving her constantly backwards. Even if they didn't kill her, they were more than enough to weaken her seriously.  
  
"Time for the wiccan trio," he muttered and grabbed a fresh clip for his sniper rifle.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
It took Glory a long moment to get back to her feet after the last bullet's impact.  
  
"You're cheating," the goddess growled and walked up to the blonde slayer and her friends.  
  
"I haven't even started," Buffy responded with a smirk and motioned at the three witches that stood behind her.  
  
Glory looked confused. Her main focus had been the slayer up to now, which meant that she had totally forgotten the potential threat of the witches.  
  
The wiccans stood behind the rest of the group, carefully guarded by Faith and Giles. The three of them had joined hand and chanted softly under their breaths, gathering as much power as possible for what was coming next.  
  
Their spell finally came to its end and a bright, blue ball of energy appeared in Willow's outstretched hand.  
  
"Showtime," she muttered under her breath and flung the ball in Glory's general direction. The goddess tried step out of the way of the magical projectile, but the ball just corrected its paths and followed her.  
  
"Damn.," she exclaimed just before the ball hit her.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
Xander quickly reloaded the rifle and focused the scope back to the spot where he had last seen the Goddess, just in time to see her airborne body as it crashed through the wall of a nearby building.  
  
Spike and Buffy immediately gave chase, while Faith and Giles were engaged in a furious battle with Glory's minions. Willow, Tara and Jenny were still too exhausted from the spell to take part in the fight and took refuge behind some boxes. Xander grimaced. There were no targets left for him to shoot from his current position. Glory was out his sight and he couldn't shoot the minions without the danger of hitting one of the Scoobies.  
  
So he grabbed the rope, attached it to his tactical vest and rappelled down the side of the house.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
"You tricked me slayer," Glory shouted enraged, standing shakily on her feet. "But I will still win."  
  
"Don't bet on it," Buffy responded and punched her hard in the face. Glory nearly went down under the blow, but still managed to stay on her feet.  
  
Buffy prepared another punch, but this time the goddess managed to grab her hand on its way.  
  
"My turn now," she said and applied pressure on Buffy's hand. Buffy fell to her knees under the pain, unable to free her hand.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
The fight between the slayer/watcher tagteam and Glory's minions had come to a sudden standstill. The minions quickly noticed that even if not outnumbered they still stood no chance against the Scoobies in close combat, especially with the Faith cutting through them.  
  
So they retreated back to the security of the entrance to the tower, where they loosed a series of crossbow bolts and everything else they could use as a distance weapon.  
  
The three witches were already in the security of their cover, Faith and Giles followed suite on the other side of the battle field.  
  
Xander choose that exact moment to enter the construction site. He quickly ran up to the watcher/slayer duo and crouched behind their cover.  
  
"How are you guys doing," Xander asked and fired a shot of his Spas-12 at one of Glory's minions.  
  
"Not too god X," Faith told him. "They pinned us down here."  
  
"Is Dawn safe?" Giles asked and shot down another minion with his shotgun.  
  
"As safe as she can get," Xander responded. "But all that is for nothing if we don't take that blonde bitch out. Where is she?"  
  
"I don't know," Giles admitted and took cover behind the box. "They are probably somewhere in that building," the watcher said pointing into the general direction.  
  
"Okay," Xander said and took two egg shaped objects out of his rucksack. "Get Dawn out of here. Just in case we can't stop Glory."  
  
"And how are we supposed to do that," Faith asked.  
  
"You know," Xander said with a smile and removed the pin from the two grenades. "I always wanted to say this. Fire in the hole," he screamed at the top of his lungs, so the witches also could hear him.  
  
With these words he stood up and threw the grenades in the general direction of Glory's minions.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
"What is he saying?" Murk asked confused. "The fire is whole?"  
  
"No no," Jinx said. "He said that there is a hole in the fire."  
  
But before either of them could dwell two much on that phrase, the grenades exploded, taking a large part of Glory's minions with them.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
They looked at the damage Xander had caused. Most of Glory's minions had been taken out, the rest of them now less than organised.  
  
"You finish those guys off," Xander told Giles and Faith. "And I'll help Buffy."  
  
Both nodded and jumped over their cover and ran in the direction of the remaining minions, while Xander ran in the direction of the hole Glory had left behind.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
Glory looked down at the bruised and broken body of her opponent. Buffy was barely conscious and out for the count. Even in her weakened state, the Goddess had still managed to wipe the floor with the slayer.  
  
"You delayed the inevitable long enough," Glory said, grabbed the slayer by throat and lifted her up. "Now it's time for you to die."  
  
But before the goddess could follow through with her threat, she was pulled away from the vampire slayer. The arm that was around her throat tried his hardest to choke the life out of her.  
  
"That's really annoying," Glory exclaimed with a roll of her eyes and grabbed the hand, twisting it hard until she could hear the bone break.  
  
"Oh, it's you," the surprised goddess said once she had turned around. In front of her and currently on his knees was Spike, trying his hardest to free his now useless hand out of the vice like grip Glory had on it.  
  
"You know," she said and twisted his hand even further, which resulted in a loud scream of pain from the vampire. "I always wondered. Why is a vampire helping a slayer. Don't you guys have any kind of morals now a days?"  
  
"Have no other choice," Spike grunted through clenched teeth. "Got a chip in my head, can't hurt anything human. It's either help her," he said and moved his head in Buffy's direction. "or the pointy end of stake for me."  
  
"And that supposed to be an excuse?" Glory asked angry. "I mean, if you wanted to act evil, you could have at least told me where the key was before I had to torture that bit of information out of you. I think that deserves some punishment."  
  
But before Spike could ask what she meant by that, the goddess had already finished her action. Moving with lighting speed, she grabbed the vampire's arm with her other hand and ripped it clear off his shoulder.  
  
The shocked vampire looked down at the stump where his arm had been seconds earlier. It took full ten seconds before the pain finally set in, turning the normally cold blooded vampire in a screaming, writhing mass on the ground.  
  
Glory completely ignored the suffering vampire and inspected exposed joint at the now separated arm. "Interesting," she commented and looked at Spike's humiliated form. "I though that it would turn to dust too. See, even I can still learn something," she told him with a smile.  
  
"I guess," Glory said and turned the vampire around with the tip of her foot. "That you wish that you had never met the slayer. Or that someone just staked you right now. Well, can't help you with the first one. But I damn sure can make the second one come true."  
  
And with these words the goddess rammed Spike own arm through his chest, impaling his heart with some of the exposed bone. The vampire's eyes nearly bulged out when he saw his arm sticking out of his chest. But before he could mutter another word, he already exploded into dust, leaving nothing but a small pile of ashes behind.  
  
Glory looked down for a few more seconds at the remains of the master vampire, before she turned her attention back to Buffy. But she stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around when she heard the sound of clapping from the other side of the room.  
  
"Excellent," Xander commented, as he stepped through the hole in wall. "A perfect finish. Not many people know that vampires can be staked with bone. I couldn't have done it better myself."  
  
Glory eyed the newcomer for a few seconds "You're the one that shot me when I took my key," Glory exclaimed and walked up to Xander. "I will be a pleasure to torture you before I leave this plane."  
  
"Yeah right," Xander said and took the tube that had been hanging around his shoulder for the whole time. He quickly prepared the weapon and aimed it at the goddess. "You won't be too angry if I decide to take a rain check, will you? Now, say cheese."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Glory asked confused. But before anyone could answer her question, Xander had already pressed the button on the LAW rocket launcher.  
  
The rocket propelled out of the tube and hit the advancing goddess square in the chest. The force of the projectile threw Glory through the whole room and yet again through another wall.  
  
Xander had modified the rocket for exactly that purpose. Knowing that they had to fight on very little space, he applied the rocked with a three seconds timer. That was enough time to for everyone to get out of the explosive range of the weapon.  
  
Xander counted down from three and was rewarded. The explosion of the rocket rocked the foundation of the whole building.  
  
"You still alive?" he asked rhetorically and helped Buffy back on her feet.  
  
"Barely," she responded weakly and looked at the hole Glory had left behind. "Do you think that finished her."  
  
But before Xander could answer her, they heard they sound of rubble from the other room.  
  
"Guess not," he commented and took his shotgun.  
  
Glory finally stumbled through the second hole, barely able to stand on her own feet.  
  
"No mere mortal is able to defeat me," Glory shouted at the two. "I'm Glorificus, the hellgoddess. No one will stay in my way."  
  
Xander left Buffy's side, the slayer still not able for yet another fight. He raised his shotgun and fired at the approaching form of the goddess.  
  
Glory was thrown back by the impact of the 12 gauge slug, but still she managed to stay on her feet. Xander walked up to her and fired again, each shot driving the goddess backwards and steadily onto her knees.  
  
Xander stood in front of her, when the magazine of his shotgun finally ran dry. But that didn't stop him from continuing his attack  
  
"Why can't you just die," he shouted and hit the fallen goddess several time in the face with the butt of the shotgun.  
  
Suddenly Glory's hand rose up and grabbed the striking weapon in her hand.  
  
"Do you still don't get it," she said and glared at her opponent. "I'm a goddess. You have nothing against me."  
  
With these words she ripped the gun out of Xander's hand and punched the Tarakan in the face. The blow sent him a few feet backwards. But when he rose up, Xander smiled at her.  
  
"I get it," Xander said and wiped away the blood from his lips. "You're a goddess. But also know that you have already hit harder."  
  
Glory looked with disbelief and horror at him. But before she could respond she felt a sudden pain in her chest.  
  
"No," she started. "Not now," but by the time she finished the sentence she had already transformed back into Ben.  
  
Xander walked up to the prone figure, Buffy following him shakily behind.  
  
"Ben?" she asked surprised when she recognised his face.  
  
"You know him," Xander asked casually, while he watched as the intern turned and twisted in pain.  
  
"He is an intern at Sunnydale hospital," Buffy told him. "I would have never expected him to be Glory's host."  
  
"So close. We've been so close," was the mantra that Ben repeated over and over again.  
  
"Time to put him out of his misery," Xander said and took the SOCOM pistol out of his holster. Buffy didn't protest. She was far too tired to argue and couldn't have stopped Xander even if she wanted to. She turned around and waited for the inevitable.  
  
She barely heard the silenced shot, but the end of Ben's mantra told her that Glory's host really was dead.  
  
"You think that was necessary?" Buffy asked,  
  
"Better kill him now before Glory comes back," Xander replied.  
  
"Well, at least it's finally over," Buffy exclaimed relieved and limped in the direction of the exit.  
  
"No it's not," Xander muttered. But before Buffy could find out what he meant with these words Xander had already pinned her against one of the walls.  
  
"I told you I would act as a professional as long as the world was in danger," he told her and produced a combat knife from his vest. Buffy still groggy from the fight with Glory, could only stare with fear as he planted the blade at her throat. "But that's over now. The question is: What am I going to do with you?" 


	11. Default Chapter

Hi guys. Sorry it took me so long to update one of my stories. I guess I already said it once, but I didn't have much time in the last few months to write and with the holidays coming up, it'll be even less time.  
  
So, I hope you like the new part.  
  
Bye and happy Christmas in advance.  
  
Tobias  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
"Xander," Buffy managed to croak out out after a few silent moments.  
  
"Don't Xander me Buffy. We're a long time passed that," the assassin replied with a snarl. "I mean, what did you suppose I would do? Be all friendly once this all is over?" he asked with a dry laugh. "After all, you tried to kill me. I'm just returning the favour, with a bit more success on my part."  
  
"I never tried to kill you," Buffy exclaimed and a lone tear ran down her left cheek. "It was an accident."  
  
"Yeah. I bet after a while you believed that yourself," Xander spat out. "But it was no accident when you beat the living shit out of me. Face it Buff. You lost it, therefore you're responsible for what happened to me. You cost me the use of my legs and three years of my life to get the use of them back."  
  
"None of us forced you to join the Brotherhood," Buffy returned. "That was your decision, not mine."  
  
Xander considered that for a second and finally nodded. "You're right. My decision, my responsibility. I really can't blame you for any of that. I still could have refused their offer. But three years is a long time to bottle up a lot of hate. And I'm finally looking forward to releasing some of it."  
  
But before he could make his threat true, they heard the sound of footsteps outside the house.  
  
"X-Man? B?," Faith's voice called out as the dark slayer carefully climbed through the hole Glory had left behind, Giles following close behind. "Are you two ..oh shit," she exclaimed when she spotted Xander with his knife at Buffy's throat.  
  
"Damn," Xander muttered. "I wanted to do this without an audience."  
  
"Please Xander," Giles called out and aimed his shotgun at the assassin. "Don't do something you might regret."  
  
"I'm sure that I won't regret this," Xander replied. "It's a pretty simple equation as far as I see it. She hurt me so I'll hurt her."  
  
"Ain't that right Buffy? After all, it worked for you when you had to take care of Faith," Xander asked, his attention returning to the surprised slayer. "She told me a bit about what happened between you and her." He paused a second to let that sink in. "I've known her now for two days. But I already respect her more than I ever did you. And you know why?" he asked. "Okay, she killed people. But she at least took responsibility for what she did. She voluntarily went to prison to pay for her crimes. But you? You felt sorry for yourself before moving on with you life, like nothing had happened. You never took responsibility for your actions."  
  
"I tried," Buffy whispered so quiet that Xander had trouble hearing it.  
  
"What?" the assassin asked confused and removed the knife from her throat.  
  
"I said that I tried," the slayer replied, a little louder this time.  
  
****************************Flashback****************************  
  
Buffy and the two police officers had been inside the interrogation room for nearly two hours now. All three were exhausted and went over the events for the eight time.  
  
"Let's get this straight Miss Summers," Detective Stein said and rubbed his temples to prevent the upcoming headache. "You're telling us that the accident Mr. Harris was involved was not really an accident. That you were responsible for the various wounds that were inflicted on him and that it was due to your assault that he fell down that staircase, which resulted in his paralysis," he recited Buffy's previous statements. "Is that so far correct?"  
  
"Yeah," Buffy whispered, barely audible for the policemen.  
  
"Yes right," Stein exclaimed frustrated, still rubbing his temples "Could you excuse us for a minute?" he said and stood up, his partner following him close behind.  
  
"What do you think?" he asked, after he had closed the door.  
  
"She is crazy," his partner stated without a doubt. "I mean, let's just look at the facts," he said, but the look on Stein's face told him that he wasn't convinced. "Come on. You can't believe the story she told us. Just look at her. Do you think that such a small girl could beat up that boy? He is stronger than her, taller than her and also weighs much more than her."  
  
Stein shook his head. "I know that. But it's also a fact that Summers has a pretty long track record when it comes to causing trouble. And let's not forget the orderly's arm she broke at the hospital."  
  
"So what are we supposed to do?" Stein's partner asked after a moment.  
  
"We can hardly ignore what she told us," the detective finally decided. "But I'd say that we consult the police psychologist before we decide what do with her."  
  
His partner nodded and both just wanted to return to the interrogation room, when the caught sight of a man in a business suit as he walked up to them.  
  
"Can I help you Sir," Stein asked with a frown.  
  
"Yes, you certainly can," the man said and handed Stein his id. "As you can see I'm representing the Mayor."  
  
Both men paled at the mention of Mayor Wilkins. "What can I do for you?" Stein asked worried and handed him the id back.  
  
"As I know you have a certain Buffy Summers in your custody," the man stated. "The Mayor wants you to stop investigating her case and drop all charges you have against her."  
  
"What?" Stein's partner asked surprised. "You can't be serious."  
  
"I'm deadly serious," the man said and glared at the policeman. "If you have a problem with that, I suggest you speak with the Mayor personally." When no response came from the young policeman, the Mayor's messenger, turned back to Stein. "I hope I won't have to repeat that order. It could have serious consequences for both of you."  
  
Without another word, the man turned around, leaving two confused policemen behind.  
  
"Do as he said," Stein ordered after a second. "Tell her whatever you want, just get her out of here."  
  
Stein's partner nodded at that and went back into the room.  
  
****************************Flashback****************************  
  
"We later found out that the Mayor was a demon worshipper, who wanted to ascend to a pure demon on Graduation Day," Buffy explained. "He used his influence to stop all investigations on me. A process that would have drawn too much attention to Sunnydale's nightlife."  
  
Xander looked disbelievingly at her. In the end he turned his head in Giles' direction. "Is it true?" he asked. "Did she tell me the truth?"  
  
Giles looked at the young man and finally nodded his head. That brought his attention back to Buffy. Xander just stared at her for several long seconds. Nearly all emotions that were humanly possible flashed over his face. Finally anger took the upperhand.  
  
"You stupid bitch," he yelled and backhanded Buffy, sending the slayer to the ground. "You have some nerve. My only purpose for living over the past three years was so that I could get back at you," he screamed, while Buffy looked stoically at him. "And now you're telling me that you actually wanted to pay for your crimes?"  
  
Buffy continued looking at him, her tears now streaming freely from her eyes. Finally she nodded, answering Xander's question.  
  
"Fuck," Xander yelled and rammed his fist into the nearby brick wall, blowing a large hole into it.  
  
Finally he focused his anger back on Buffy. He grabbed her by her throat and lifted her up.  
  
"Do you think that this will change anything?" he asked her through clenched teeth. "You're still guilty for what you did to me."  
  
"Yeah. I'm guilty," she replied honestly. "And I wish everyday that I could go back to that horrible day and change what I did. But I can't. I regret with every fibre of my being what I put you through. All I could do was to work everyday to be a better person, so that one day I would be worth to ask you for your forgiveness."  
  
Buffy looked Xander directly in the eyes. "If you still think that my death will satisfy your thirst for revenge, just go on. Kill me. Just make it quick," she said and closed her eyes in anticipation of the Xander's next move.  
  
The assassin meanwhile had a hard time deciding what to do next. On the one hand he wanted nothing more than to make Buffy pay for what she did to him. On the other hand he couldn't ignore what Buffy had obviously been through during the past few years. But finally he made his choice.  
  
"You know, the only suitable solution for this would be if I put you through the same pain I had to endure," he said and released her from his grip. "I'm not a saint, but not even I'm that cruel."  
  
"Feel yourself lucky Buffy," Xander told her after a long moment. "Today's not the day you're going to die. And as far as I'm concerned, that day will never come."  
  
Xander turned around and walked in Faith's direction. "Maybe I'll even forgive you one day. But don't expect it in the near future," he said over his shoulder and joined Faith, while Giles rushed to Buffy's side.  
  
"Where are the others?" Xander asked the dark slayer.  
  
"They're at your van," she replied. "Just in case Glory was still alive and they had get out of here."  
  
"And you two stayed just in case Glory wasn't already dealt with," Xander said with a nod. "What happened to you?" he asked and indicated the wound on her stomach she covered with her hand.  
  
"One of those punks slashed me when I wasn't looking," Faith replied with a shrug. "Nothing bad. Needs some stitches though."  
  
Xander passed another look at Buffy and Giles, who examined the slayer's wounds, before he finally walked out of the building. "We should get back to the magic shop. To lick our wounds."  
  
Faith nodded and joined him on his way out of the construction site. "You okay?" she finally asked.  
  
"No," Xander replied honestly. "But I'll survive."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
On the other side of the road, a lone figure sat on top of one of the buildings and watched with the barest hint of interest as the Scoobies and their allies mounted the black van and drove down the road.  
  
"That's it?" he asked outraged and stuffed another hand of popcorn in his mouth. "That was the most boring Apocalypse I ever saw," he muttered and dropped the now empty bowl of popcorn down on the road.  
  
With a shake of his head he snapped his fingers and instantly vanished into thin air.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------  
  
"What happened back there?" Willow finally asked, breaking the silence in the van. "We were really worried when the noise stopped and you guys didn't come out there."  
  
"Uh..," Buffy started and exchanged a brief look with Xander through the rearview mirror. "Nothing bad. Xander and I we just...talked."  
  
"Oh," Willow exclaimed and grew silent again.  
  
No other word was spoken, until Xander parked the van in front of the Magic Box  
  
"Okay, we're here," he announced. The Scoobies quickly left the car, Xander and Faith following them close behind.  
  
Unseen from them, another person witnessed their arrival. Mr. Jones watched from inside his car as the group entered the shop. He waited a few more moments and then he finally pulled his cellphone out of his jacket.  
  
"This is Jones," he said into the phone. "I have contact." 


	12. Default Chapter

Hi there. I hope no one's angry that it took me so long to finish the next part of the story. But I have practically no time left for writing. An hour here and there, but that's pretty much everything. And it'll get even worse in the next months. So don't expect too much from me in the next three months. Don't know how it's going to look like after that, I'll just have to see.  
  
*******  
  
"Ouch," Faith winced when the needle entered her flesh for the seventh time.  
  
"What's up Faith?" Xander asked with a teasing grin. "You're the Slayer. The bogeyman of the underworld. The Scourge of everything that goes bump in the night. And you can't take the pain caused by this little needle?"  
  
"Oh, shut up," she responded with a glare. "Just finish this up and be done with it already."  
  
"Be patient. Just three more stiches and we'll be done," he said and searched the counter for some bandages, only to realise that he had run out on them.  
  
"You need some bandages?" Tara asked, an armful of already stained ones in her hands. Even if the battle against Glory and her minions had been a success, the usual wounds that accompanied such a fight still needed a lot of medical supplies.  
  
"Yeah, we could use some," Xander told her with a nod. "Faith's been bleeding all over the place."  
  
"I'll see if I can get you some from the training room," the witch told him. "We always have a full first aid kit there."  
  
"Thanks," Xander replied and continued to patch the wounded slayer up. Three more stitches and a couple of complaints from Faith later, he was done with the task at hand.  
  
"I guess that's it," he said, wiping his hands clean on his trousers. "All we need now are those bandages," he exclaimed.  
  
Just when he said this he heard the sound of the training room's door opening. He turned his head in the door's direction, but to his shock not only Tara stood in the doorway. The man he had only known as Mr. Jones stood behind the young wicca, his hand tightly clamped around her mouth, preventing the witch from muttering any kind of spell and a gun in his hand.  
  
Xander reacted immediately and aimed his own gun at the Tarakan. That action startled also the rest of the Scoobies who were at once on there feet and ready to face the new threat. Faith also hopped off the counter, but Xander made sure that she stayed behind him.  
  
"Not one of you moves," Jones said in the direction of the Scoobies. "Or your friend here is dead," he exclaimed and pointed the gun briefly at Tara's temple before he aimed it at Xander.  
  
"Hello Alexander," the Tarakan greeted him with a smile. "Miss me?"  
  
"Didn't take the Brotherhood long to send someone after me," Xander replied. "I was wondering when one of you would show up."  
  
"Well, you know me," Jones told him with a smirk. "I'm always fashionably late."  
  
"And a coward on top of that?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is this how you came to your position? By using innocent bystanders as human shields?"  
  
"No, not always," Jones replied. "But she is much more than my shield. She's my insurance that I'll get out of here in one piece after this is over."  
  
"Xander," Buffy asked. "Who is that guy?"  
  
"Meet Mr. Jones," Xander told her, his eyes and gun still focused on the assassin. "If that's his real name. He was the one who recruited me for the brotherhood and he also was my supervisor for the last three years."  
  
"Too much praise for me Alexander," Jones replied and turned his head in Buffy's direction. "But he's right. I'm the one who put him back on his feet when you broke his body. I'm must say, that I'm surprised that you're still alive. Seems that Alexander really has softened too much in the last few days. Something like this wouldn't have happened a few weeks ago."  
  
"Now about you," Smith said and looked back at Xander. "I can't really express how disappointed I am with you. We gave you one little assignment. Kill the slayer and collect a nice reward for retirement. That's shouldn't have been so hard."  
  
"Yeah, but I figured that sparing her life and rescuing the world was a bit more important than her termination," Xander stated  
  
Jones shook his head at that. "Apocalypses come and go. Nothing special about them. Someone's always there to prevent them. But I'm not here to talk about ethics. I'm here to carry out the hit that was assigned to you. Now, If you will step aside so I can finish it."  
  
"Won't happen," Xander said and made sure that Jones had no clear shot at the dark slayer.  
  
"Hey," Faith exclaimed annoyed. "Don't I have any say in the matter?"  
  
"No," Xander told her. "This is personal. So, if you want to get to her you have to go through me."  
  
"I'm fine with that," Jones said with a smile. "And you? You think that the pupil can beat his teacher?"  
  
"How do they say," Xander replied. "I'd be a bad student if I couldn't."  
  
"Great," came suddenly a shout from their left. "Finally it's getting interesting. I was already bored out of my skull."  
  
Both Xander and Jones turned their heads and were, like the rest of the group, surprised to see a small man sitting on top of the counter.  
  
"What?" he said when he noticed the confused looks of everyone. "Oh, just ignore me. I'm just here to enjoy the show."  
  
"Whistler?" Buffy asked, once she recognised the balance demon.  
  
"Hey Buffy," the demon greeted her. "How are ya doin'? Slayin' still goin' smooth?"  
  
"You know the pimp?" Xander asked surprised.  
  
"Hey," Whistler replied and hopped off the counter. "No need to be rude, okay?"  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Jones asked. "And why are you interfering with my contract?"  
  
"Well, she already said it. I'm Whistler. Balance demon. Sent by the Powers that Be," he explained and pointed his index finger upwards to emphasize the point. "And second, this isn't really your contract anymore."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about," the assassin begun, but was stopped dead in his tracks when his cell phone suddenly started ringing.  
  
"You should get that call," the demon told him and stepped between the two assassins, making sure that none of them had a clear shot at the other. "And if you'll stop being trigger happy for a minute and let the man answer his phone," he told Xander. "Believe me, everything will be cleared after that."  
  
Xander hesitated for a few seconds, but finally he released his finger from the trigger. On the other side of the makeshift barrier Jones did the same and retrieved his cell phone from his pocket.  
  
"Jones," he answered.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Jones," came the voice of his superior through the speaker. "How are you doing? Have you already finished the contract on the slayer?"  
  
"No sir," Jones replied nervously. "I was just about to do it when you phoned me."  
  
"Excellent work. But sadly I have to inform you that the contract on Miss Williams was .....altered."  
  
"Altered?" Jones asked confused  
  
"Yes. It seems that our customers kept a close eye on our actions. A very close eye. They are satisfied with our progress so far and don't want the contract to be fulfilled."  
  
"But Sir," The assassin interjected. "That goes against everything the Brotherhood stands for."  
  
"It's not your concern what the Brotherhood stands for," his superior replied annoyed. "Abort the assassination and report back at the Headquarters," he said and ended the connection.  
  
"Yes Sir," Jones muttered disappointed and put the phone back into his pocket. "Guess it's your lucky day Alexander," he said and released Tara out of his grip. "Headquarter's just told me to leave you and your slayer alone."  
  
"What?" Xander asked surprised.  
  
"My reaction exactly," Jones said and looked at Whistler. "Apparently our 'customer' is satisfied with our progress and doesn't want us finish the contract."  
  
"See," the demon said and beamed at both assassins. "No need for pointless violence."  
  
"Not this time," Jones exclaimed and walked past the balance demon and the still surprised ex-Tarakan. "This isn't over Alexander," he said over his shoulder while he walked in the direction of the front door. "Sooner or later you're going to piss off the wrong people. And I'll be there to take care of you."  
  
"We'll see," Xander told him a smile. "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out."  
  
"Of course not," the assassin replied with a matching smile and turned in Buffy's direction. "It was a pleasure to meet you finally in person Miss Summers. Good bye."  
  
And with these words the assassin turned around and left the magic Box,  
  
"Wheeww," Whistler exclaimed with a sigh. "That was a close call."  
  
"Closer than you think," Xander said angrily, grabbed the demon by the lapels of his jacket and lifted him up in the air. "I hope you like to talk, cause I have a number of questions I want answered, you little pimp wannabe."  
  
"Hey, no problem with that," Whistler replied with a shrug, obviously not scared about the situation. "But I'd rather do it with both my feet on solid ground. You think you can do that?"  
  
Xander hesitated for a second, but finally he released the demon from his grip, letting him fall to the ground.  
  
"Thanks," Whistler remarked sarcastically while he stood up. "So what do you wanna know?"  
  
"First," Xander started and counted with his fingers. "Who are you? Second: How do you know Buffy? And third: What do you have to do with the contract on Faith?"  
  
"That's easy," the demon said and began counting, mocking Xander's previous action. "For number one. Whistler. Balance Demon. Agent of the Powers that Be. Nice to meet you. For number two. I gave her the heads up when that lunatic Drusilla tried to end the world with Acathla's help. And number three. Well, I was the one who sent the Brotherhood after her."  
  
Everyone was silent at that sudden revelation. Giles finally was the first  
  
"You're telling us that you were the one who contracted the Brotherhood to assassinate Faith?" Whistler nodded at that. "And yet, you were the one who obviously aborted her assassination?" Again Whistler nodded.  
  
"What?" Willow asked. "You sent the Brotherhood after Faith?" Again a nod from the balance demon. "I don't get it."  
  
"Hey don't blame me okay?" Whistler told the group apologetic. "The Powers knew that blondie here wouldn't be able to defeat Glory on her own," he explained and took a few steps back when he saw the furious look on Buffy's face. "So they ordered me to send the Brotherhood after her." Everything looked confused at the demon. "Hey don't ask me okay? They just told me that everything would work out in the end. That not only Faith would help to beat that bitch into the ground, but that our friendly neighbourhood assassin would also hop onto the 'let's save the world' wagon. That's the way they're doing things. Never go for an easy solution when you can make it difficult."  
  
"Fine," Buffy said, still a bit pissed at the demon. "You did your job. World is safe till next week. Now get lost."  
  
"Can't do," Whistler replied and turned towards Faith and Xander. "See, the Powers have plans with you two. Long term plans," he told them with a smug grin.  
  
Xander's eyes widened at that revelation. But before he could even move, Faith had already taken manners in her own hands or rather in her own feet. The dark slayer kicked the balance demon firmly between his legs, sending him down to the ground.  
  
"You asshole," she shouted and would've done more serious damage to the prone demon, if Xander hadn't held her back. "You think you can fuck around with my life? Just like I'm some pawn in an intergalactic chess game?"  
  
"Ouch. That hurts," the balance demon replied and stood up, obviously not in as much pain as expected. "Hey, I know that sucks. Those things are never easy. But wait till you heard everything before you start to decorate your living room with my head."  
  
"Then start talking," Xander said as he restrained the still struggling Faith. "Or I'll join her beating you to a pulp."  
  
"You won't," Whistler replied with confidence. "Your old girlfriend is in trouble."  
  
Both Xander and Faith stopped dead in their tracks and looked with a mixture of shock and confusion at the demon.  
  
"Cordy?" Xander finally asked. "Why should Cordy be in trouble?"  
  
Whistler raised his eyebrow at that and looked at Faith. "Didn't you tell him?"  
  
"Tell me what?" Xander asked confused and looked at Faith. "You said that Cordy's living in LA."  
  
"Weeeell," Faith admitted after a second. "I never said that exactly."  
  
"What the slayer wants to tell you," Whistler interrupted "Is that you ex is running a detective agency in LA that is specialized in... supernatural cases."  
  
"What?" Xander exclaimed after a few seconds. "You're telling me that Cordy is fighting vampires, demons and co." Whistler nodded at that. "And that she's in trouble?"  
  
"Big trouble, believe me," the demon said and handed him a piece of paper. "That's the address of her agency. The powers would be very grateful if you could assist her."  
  
"I'm no one's lapdog," Xander replied angrily. "Find someone else to do your dirty work."  
  
"You think you can fool me with that," the demon asked with a dry laugh. "Admit it. You can't just sit back and wait until something bad happens to her."  
  
"It's that bad?" Xander asked worried.  
  
"Even worse," the demon replied with a sigh. "She'll die if you don't help her."  
  
"Anything specific?"  
  
"No," Whistler said with a shake of his head. "That's all I got told. Everything else is up to you."  
  
"Shit," Xander cursed and looked briefly in Faith's direction. The look on her face told him that she was also worried for the ex-cheerleader. "Okay, I think you can count me......" Xander started, but stopped when he realised that the balance demon had vanished into thin air.  
  
"What the hell?" he cursed and looked around, noting that the rest of the Scoobies were equally surprised by Whistler's sudden departure.  
  
"Man, that guy is sneaky," Xander exclaimed and looked at Faith. "You coming?"  
  
"Count me in," Faith told him with a nod. "I won't leave Cordy hanging."  
  
"Good," Xander said.  
  
"Wait a second," Willow interrupted. "You basically just arrived. You can't just leave like that after three years."  
  
"What do you expect me to do Wills?" Xander asked with a sigh. "You heard the man. Cordy's in trouble and if I don't help her she might die. You really want to risk that?"  
  
"No, you're right," Willow admitted sadly. "I just hoped you could spend some time with us."  
  
"Maybe some other time," Xander said. "But right now I have another friend who needs my help."  
  
"Then you should go Xander," Buffy told him. "Go and help Cordy. Guess she needs you more than we do at the moment."  
  
"Thanks Buff," Xander said with a nod. "We should get going now. Wasting time is a bit risky in a situation like that."  
  
"Okay. Just remember that you have friends in this town," the blonde slayer said with a hopeful look on her face.  
  
"I will," Xander said and walked in the direction of the front door. "Bye guys."  
  
"Well, you heard the X-man," Faith said and followed his departing figure. "Was nice to see you guys again," she said and opened the door. "Oh, Red? Love your new lifestyle," she told the wicca with a smile before she disappeared, leaving a furiously blushing Willow behind.  
  
*******  
  
Epilogue  
  
*******  
  
"Hey. I think he's waking up."  
  
The male voice that just said these words, was quickly replaced by a female, more softer voice.  
  
"Doyle?" the voice asked. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I hope someone got the number of the truck that just ran me over," the half demon groaned and slowly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by Cordelia Chase's beautiful features. "Cause I'm going to sue every cent out of its driver's ass."  
  
"At least you didn't lose your sense of humour," the brunette told him with a smile. "What did you see?"  
  
"It has to be important, cause that was the worst vision ever", he exclaimed with a sigh before he gathered his thoughts. "Someone's coming. Two people. A man and a woman."  
  
"Good guys or bad guys?" Cordelia asked.  
  
Doyle though about that for another second before he answered. "It didn't seem to me that they were in any kind hostile to us. So, my guess is good guys."  
  
Cordelia sighed with relief and walked up to one of the church's windows. "That's at least something," she said and looked at the all covering darkness that surrounded the small village they were currently staying in. "Cause right now, we could use every help we can get."  
  
The End 


End file.
